Shopping Tips: How to Find Bargains, Deals and Discounts

 If you are a regular reader of my blog, I am sure you would have noticed I am a massive bargain hunter and I have always been way before I started blogging. I just prefer to find a bargain while treating myself as it helps save some money and it has made me smarter with my money and spending habits. I am not ashamed to say I hate buying anything full price if I can help it. I owe everything I have learnt from Bargain Hunting to my sister who is a massive bargain hunter and she honestly has the best eyes for all the deals in town. You can literally go to the same shop with her and find nothing while she has her hands full of bargains that make you wonder in shock. The easiest way to find bargains is to understand various shopping systems and arm yourself with information. Of course, this is an ongoing process and it may appear tedious to some but if you are a bargain hunter, you would definitely enjoy the process. Now, I am only sharing tips based on my experience and I am definitely not a full time shopper/personal stylist (I wish I was though) so don’t take my word as gospel, it is important to do your own research and find what works best for you.

Where is the best place to shop?

Personally, I find that shopping in places outside the city, outside London in my case,  ensures I get more deals than I can ever find in popular stores/shops in the city. I prefer to shop in South West London which is where I live and I find that the shops on the outskirts have the best deals (even though they may not be the latest season). I once had to do some work in Woking near London and the high street stores there had so many amazing deals that I knew I could never ever find near where I lived in the city. It is rare to find outstanding deals in  popular/busy touristy areas such as Oxford Circus because all the tourists go there so there is a lot of demand and less sales/deals although you would always find the newest releases and latest season items there. I am not saying you can't find deals there, you certainly can especially if you look well and hard but it is easier to find deals in less busy/popular places.

When is the best time to shop?

Based on my experience, I would say the best time to shop on the high street is in the morning between 10am-1pm on weekdays (Mon-Wed) and I know this seems almost unattainable if you work full time. When I was a student and had plenty of time and money, if I might add, I had a part time job in the morning and when I got off work, I went straight to the shops on the high street and I got the best deals because the shops just got their deliveries in. They were also less people in the shops so I had ample time to shop to my heart’s desire. I also had student discount (If you are student reading this, just know I am very JEALOUS of you and your student discount right now, cherish it!!) which meant I made massive savings; sometimes up to 25% discount. Shopping during the weekend is always crowded and I always try and avoid these periods as they give me a headache and I can’t deal. If you love Boots and Superdrug, the best time to shop in Boots is on Wednesdays as they rotate their deals then and add in new offers, so pop in there on a Wednesday morning for the best picks. I think Superdrug updates/refreshes their offers on Wednesdays and sometimes Thursdays. While you are there. check out Boots Clearance section (they seem to have removed some of them this Christmas season) because it has the best offers ever but for some reason, they keep it well hidden. I once bought a camera in Boots Woking for £20 and it was lovely, in perfect condition with just a little scratch on the body..

When is the best time to shop online?

If you love shopping online, the best time to shop is between midnight and 2am (I know, very ungodly hours) but that’s when many online stores update their websites because they assume they will be less traffic/less people shopping at that time. Although, sometimes it may not be the most ideal time because sites may also be down for maintenance so you just have to be careful and observe.  I have found so many Zara deals around this time especially beginning of this year during the January sales. If you are shopping online, ensure that you check for discounts codes online because many online stores always have this and if all fails and you don't find any, then you can sign up to their newsletter as many stores usually offer at least 10% if you sign up to their newsletter.

Where can I find discount codes and deals?

There is never a straight answer to this because there are a variety of sites that offer discounts and deals. The obvious place is to sign up to newsletters of various stores as they would always email you any latest deals or discounts. Debenhams, Cult Beauty and House of Fraser usually have a 10% discount ever so often (usually in March and September and some other random times) so it is important to sign up their emails and I recommend having a separate email for this if you don’t want your personal email to be spammed because these companies send loads and loads of emails. . I also noticed that John Lewis usually follow up with a 10% discount when Debenhams and House of Fraser have discounts in their "brand match" deal so it's always good to check them out as well. I have a separate email dedicated to newsletter signups and discount codes which I do a quick search on if I need to purchase something to see if I have any emails with discounts or offers for a particular store.



I use Voucher Codes which is so amazing as it shows you the latest discounts to nearest your location for both online and in-store offers and I think it is brilliant. I use it every time I want to purchase something and I have made a lot of savings. I also use O2 Priority Moments which is one of my favourite apps which is similar to Voucher Codes but it is mainly for O2 customers. I cannot tell you how much discounts and freebies I have got with this app ranging from free lunches, free drinks, free sweets, sandwiches, bike pumps, free massage, £1 Pizzas (Yasss!!), free iPhone cases and skins, etc. It also uses your location to search for the nearest deals to you. I also have the Boots App which is relatively new but nevertheless still amazing. I would do a separate post on it soon but you get amazing offers in this app which is tailored to you and with just a click on the offer, it loads straight to your Boots Advantage Card...no need to carry around loads of vouchers any more. I am sure there are so many discounts out there but I love these ones and use them more often than others. Sometimes, some magazines like Elle, Glamour, Look, etc offer discounts as much as 25% and money off (up to £20 gift cards) to some stores like Whistles, Urban Outfitters, H&M, New Look, Aldo, etc. Glamour UK currently has one for 20% off H&M and a free Body Shop Gift Card. 

Shop in less known Department Stores

I love to shop in lesser know Department Stores like Bentalls, Elys and Morleys and this is because they have better deals. Bentalls can be found in Fenwick and Kingston while Elys can be found in Wimbledon and these shops make my heart skip several beats any time I am in there because I know I would find a good deal. I have found a lot of bargains in Elys that I thought I could never find anywhere. I got my Longchamp LM Metal Tote for just £60 and it currently retails for £86 everywhere else and I was so pleased. I also bought my Lulu Guinness Makeup Pouch for £19.50 in Elys when it retails for around £55-65 in Harvey Nichols. I just love these stores and they have the best samples and sales. Their sales are straight up 20% off almost everything including items already on sales. I am sure there are similar stores like these in various cities so it is always best to do some research and identify them.

I could go on and on because I have many more tips but this post is already long enough and I hope you have learned one or two things from here. I am always keen to learn more shopping tips/ways to find bargains so leave some tips in the comment box and links if you have a similar post...see you in my next post...x