With the festive season in full swing, personal finance expert Martin Lewis and his Money Saving Expert (MSE) team have issued a crucial guide packed with last-minute Christmas shopping hacks designed to protect Britons' wallets. The advice comes as analysis from VoucherCodes predicts a massive £3.43 billion will be spent over the pre-Christmas weekend, a significant 12.8% increase from last year.
Secret Discounts and Cashback Strategies
The team's first major tip involves a clever online manoeuvre that many retailers would prefer shoppers remained unaware of. Known as the 'abandoned basket discount', this tactic involves adding items to your online shopping cart and then leaving the website without completing the purchase. Many retailers will subsequently email a discount code to tempt you back, often within around 48 hours.
Shoppers have reported success with this method at major stores like ASOS, Currys, and The White Company, sometimes securing discounts of up to 50%. Supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco have also been known to send flat-rate cash offers. Another straightforward way to save is by signing up for store newsletters at the checkout, which can instantly slash 10 to 20 per cent off your order.
Furthermore, the MSE guide strongly recommends exploring cashback options. Several banks are currently offering attractive deals; for example, Nationwide provides 1% cashback (up to £60 monthly) for a year to those who switch to its FlexDirect account. Similarly, the Lloyds Ultra credit card offers uncapped 1% cashback for twelve months, though users are warned to pay the balance in full each month to avoid charges.
Understanding Your Key Consumer Rights
Amid the shopping frenzy, Martin Lewis emphasises the critical importance of knowing your consumer rights. A pivotal legal distinction exists between online and in-store purchases that can significantly affect your ability to return items.
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, items bought online come with a 14-day 'cooling-off' period, starting the day after you receive your goods. During this time, you have a legal right to change your mind for any reason, followed by another 14 days to send the item back (excluding perishables and certain other goods).
Conversely, when you buy something in a physical shop, you have no automatic right to return it unless it is faulty. While many stores offer goodwill return policies, they are not legally obliged to do so. Lewis offers a pragmatic, if unromantic, tip for gift-givers: "It is worth opening an expensive gift to check it's not faulty while you're still within the time limit to return it, just in case."
A Call for Budget-Conscious Spending
The release of these tips is accompanied by a sobering warning from the Money Saving Expert service. They acknowledge that giving shopping advice so close to Christmas is "tricky," as they do not wish to fuel a "retail fervour" that leads to a "debt-ridden January."
Their foundational advice is to first set a strict budget based on what you genuinely need and can afford, and to stick to it resolutely. The subsequent hacks and tips are then meant to be used methodically to purchase what you have already planned for, but at a lower cost and with less hassle. With nearly 50 million people expected to hit the shops this weekend, these strategies could prove invaluable for last-minute festive preparations.
