Want to stretch your holiday shopping dollar? Here's how to find deals

As you're shopping and checking off your gift list this holiday season, there are other ways besides watching for price reductions and sales to save money.

"There's always a way to save money on pretty much anything, whether that means finding a code somewhere, looking for a first-time buying discount or signing up for a loyalty program at a store," Samantha Gordon, Consumer Reports deals editor, told USA TODAY. "There are all these different ways to get a little extra shaved off the top."

Holiday shoppers are fighting rising costs from inflation, factoring in extra expenses for gifts, Gordon said.

"Saving extra money is even more important than ever," she said.

Retailers know consumers want deals

Retailers are reacting accordingly and offering up discounts.

"Retailers are viewing this as kind of a season of deals," Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior industry analyst, told USA TODAY. "They are acknowledging that inflation is still a big deal, and with high interest rates, consumers are feeling frugal and retailers are meeting them where they're at with discounts.

"They're looking to move merchandise, and they're acknowledging they have to bend on the price."

Rossman said 25% to 30% off items is typically the floor for sales and discounts. Some retailers are going deeper with their discounts, up to 50%, he said.

But don't stop there, Rossman said: Use various methods to stack discounts on top of already reduced prices.

Tips for finding holiday deals

Here are some tips to help consumers find deals during the holidays from Gordon and Rossman:

• Is that really a deal? Do some comparison shopping to see whether a sale touted as a Black Friday or Cyber Monday or "lightning" sale is really cheaper, Gordon said. Sometimes it's the exact same price and the retailer "just slapped a fancy label on it." See if you can find some historical prices to see if the price is a good deal.

• Use your rewards credit card. By paying with your rewards credit card, which hopefully you are paying off in full next month, Rossman said you can gain points or cash on top of your purchase. If you're disciplined to pay off the card balance in full so you don't pay extra in interest, you may consider opening a new credit card that has a sign-up bonus. Often, those bonuses require you to spend a certain amount within the first three months, and if you're already spending for the holidays, you could use that to your advantage, Rossman said.

• Sign up for a free service that earns you cash or points for purchases. Services like Rakuten or services through your credit card like Shop Through Chase can earn you cash as you are shopping by using a link to a particular retailer, Rossman said. Check with your credit card for specific card-linked offers or digital coupons if you use your card for a purchase with a particular retailer, he said.

• Consider buying secondhand, refurbished or pre-owned. Maybe you don't need to buy the newest model, especially, for a tech gift, Gordon said. Look at buying an older model year. The stigma of buying and gifting secondhand items is lessening, and more people are open to it.

• Look for coupons. There are a lot of coupons, especially online coupon codes, that can be used when shopping. Use Google or RetailMeNot to search for coupons or use a browser extension, such as Honey or Capital One Shopping, which will load the most common coupon codes for you at checkout, Gordon and Rossman said. Try to stack coupons, if the retailer will allow it.

• Sign up for a loyalty program for a discount. Often, signing up for a retailer's loyalty program or sharing your email address for specials will get you an introductory discount on your first purchase, Gordon said. But make sure to either unsubscribe from the retailer later if you don't want your inbox swamped, or create a specific email address only for shopping or for promotional emails, she said.

• Put the item in your online shopping cart and wait. This doesn't work for all retailers, Gordon said, but some retailers will lower the price or offer a discount if you have something waiting in your online shopping cart. On Amazon, you can either put it in your cart or mark it "save for later" and you can keep an eye out to see if the price goes down.

• Use a free service to track pricing. You can use tools like Google Shopping to comparison-price or track a price on the Google Chrome browser using the bell symbol at the end of the URL address window. There are some specific comparison tools for tracking Amazon prices, like CamelCamelCamel or its Chrome extension called the Camelizer or Keepa, Gordon said. Sometimes the tracking isn't 100% accurate or doesn't take into account coupons or lightning deals, but it will give you a general idea whether you're getting a good price.

Online scams: Don't let fraudsters ruin your holidays. Protect yourself with these tips.

• Beware of too-good-to-be-true scams. Sure, we all want a great price or a great deal, but if something seems too low or is from a third-party seller, be careful. It's possible it's a scam and you may never get the item, or that the deal is real, but the retailer has a ridiculous return policy that would make it nearly impossible to send back, Gordon said.

• Take advantage of price-matching policies. Check the policies for various retailers to see if you can get some money back after you've made a purchase if you find the same item at a better price. For instance, at Target, if you've bought the item after Nov. 7 and the Target price goes down before Dec. 24, you can request a price adjustment.

If you find the same item at Walmart or Amazon within two weeks, you can request a price match. Many other retailers have similar policies, Gordon said. Price-matching for large items, like appliances, can sometimes be harder because different retailers carry different model numbers to avoid price-matching, she said. However, Gordon said, she has also had luck occasionally contacting a retailer's customer service department to say she will return the item to go buy it elsewhere unless they offer the price difference in a refund. Retailers may oblige, even if they have a no partial refunds policy, because they don't want you to return the merchandise, she said. Take note that most retailers will not price-match special deals like Black Friday prices, Rossman said.

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to find shopping deals - on top of sales - for the holidays