How I Use Shoplocal.com To Find Black Friday, Christmas Sales

While I love bargain shopping, especially when it comes to Christmas sales, I don't like driving from store to store to find inexpensive birthday or Christmas gifts. Driving from one location to another uses gas and also takes time. But I was resigned to the task until I found the site, Shoplocal.com, found here, offering a better option. The site not only has Black Friday sales and Christmas gifts listed but includes regular weekly ads for stores such as Target, Wal-mart, Petsmart, CVS, Marsh, Staples, and many other stores. I checked the weekly ads for Indianapolis and many other cities and compared the online shopping through Shop Local to visits to an actual brick and mortar store.

How to use ShopLocal.com to shop locally in Indianapolis or find Christmas bargains in most cities

Based on my experience, I could have saved time and money if I'd known about Shop Local's site before my last trip to Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores in Indianapolis. Instead of cruising the aisles, I could have found the same bargains listed in the online ad found here because they listed the same things which I found in the stores. There were the same Home Inspiration winter and Christmas candles for as low as 99 cents each, a savings of 50 percent off the regular price. There were the same Holiday Inspirations Christmas wreaths, tablecloths and garlands that I'd seen in the store, all at 40 percent off regular prices, starting as low as 29 cents for some items.

After that, I took a look at the local ads for Target, Wal-mart and other stores in the Indianapolis area. Similar bargains were listed.

Bottom line: Shoplocal.com is a convenient way to discover local sales and make Christmas shopping lists, saving time.

Shoplocal.com often has Black Friday ads or previews for Indianapolis and other cities in the United States

That was certainly the case for Jo-Anne Fabrics, when I looked at the ad for an Indianapolis location of the store. I was excited to discover that some Black Friday items, including pre-lit Christmas trees (as tall as 7 feet) would be on sale for $24.99 the day after Thanksgiving, a savings of 66 percent. Poinsettas would be on sale at an amazingly low price of $5.00 for two plants! These and other Black Friday and Christmas sales could be seen from the Shop Local site. But that was just a taste of the Indianapolis Black Friday and Christmas sales found at the Shoplocal.com site.

Bottom line: Shoplocal.com allows people to get a jump on Black Friday sales.

Stoplocal.com lists the total number of sales in Indianapolis and other cities, as well as the total savings possible

By going to the home page for Indianapolis at Stoplocal.com, found here I could see that there were 7,802 sales going on in Indianapolis. Clearly, it would have been very difficult and probably impossible for me to discover all those sales and store circulars or weekly ads on my own!. The site made it very easy to find ads, narrow down specific categories or items, enlarge the weekly ads and read about the details of each item. I found sales and savings that I didn't know existed, including price savings on pie crust as well as canned pumpkin and Kraft marshmallow creme at Kmart.

Bottom line: Shoplocal allows me to find the best holiday sales and save money on grocery and Christmas shopping by simply using my computer.

Shoplocal.com allowed me to compare food prices at Indianapolis grocery stores - and those in other cities

When I glanced at the latest Marsh weekly ad located at the Shop Local site, I was surprised to learn that I could actually compare the prices in that ad with those in Meijers and O'Malias (all located in Indianapolis). In short, I could figure out which stores were most likely to have the greatest savings on the items I needed that day - or week. This could save driving time and help me save money, helping our grocery budget stretch further, perhaps allowing us to splurge on some Christmas cookies, food and gifts.

Bottom line- I could quickly plan my Christmas shopping and weekly grocery lists based on the Shoplocal.com site and save on our food costs.

Pros and cons of Shoplocal.com to find Christmas gifts - and sales bargains through the year

Overall, I was very impressed with the Shop Local site and plan to use it regularly. However, there were some limitations. Some stores can have sudden, unannounced specials, something I'd experienced in Marsh just the other day (a meat sale). Shopping and comparing prices online may not substitute for seeing an item in person. However, I often shop for items I've seen before and know exactly what I want. In those cases, the ShopLocal.com could save me time, energy, gas and money. I also wouldn't have to fight Christmas shoppers filling the malls during the holiday season. Finally, by shopping locally, I know I am supporting stores in my community. I still plan to buy items throughout the country, as well as online, but it feels good to be able to maximize my savings and have a little more money to spend at the local stores I love.

Sources

Personal experience

Shoplocal.com, located here