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Start early and benefit from summer deals and rewards card bonuses

When the dog days of summer set in, the holiday season may be the last thing on your mind. But it’s not too early to begin making your holiday shopping list and checking it twice.

In 2017, 12 percent of shoppers got a head start on the holidays in summer, according to a RetailMeNot survey. Retailers have taken notice and the holiday sales seem to roll out earlier and earlier each year.

Here’s how to take advantage of summer sales for the holidays, in between lounging around the pool and planning a family vacation.

Mark your calendar for specific sales

You may know exactly what you want to buy for the people on your list, but some things prove to be better bargains in summer than others.

When planning your holiday shopping, it helps to know what the hottest sale items are for each month – and what you’re better off waiting to buy.

Here’s a quick glance at the best deals for summer.

June

July

August

Items you should wait and buy after summer

• You might want to wait until the second week of September to shop for grills, as these usually get marked down after Labor Day.
• If you're planning to surprise your loved ones with iPads, iPhones or other smartphones and tablets this holiday season, wait for Black Friday deals.
• Fall clothing usually starts going on sale around late September or early October.

Shop winter holidays around summer holidays

“In June, many retailers are celebrating fathers, and this is a great time to shop for two holidays at once by taking advantage of seasonal deals,” says Anthony Copeman, certified financial education instructor and founder of personal finance blog Financial Lituation.

• You can find sales featuring tools and gardening supplies at home improvement stores in the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, with some sales carrying through to the end of the month. 
• As you move into July, you can find savings on jewelry, furniture and camping equipment.
• You can also save big starting in mid-July on quality patio furniture, says Brad Schweig, vice president of operations for Sunnyland Outdoor Furniture in Dallas.

Patio furniture may not be the typical holiday gift item but, says Schweig, midsummer is when retailers begin marking down last year’s collections to make way for new designs. The same goes for seasonal clothing.

And while not a holiday in itself – yet – another important summer shopping date you need to add to your calendar is Amazon Prime Day.

Prime Day is prime time for holiday shopping

Amazon Prime Day is a one-day global sales event that usually takes place around the second week of July. This event is open exclusively to Amazon Prime members.

“Amazon Prime Day can be beneficial to Prime members, especially when it comes to buying electronics,” says Copeman.

• Amazon products, including Kindles and Alexa devices, typically feature heavily in Prime Day promotions. You can also find deals on thousands of other items.
• Some of these sales extend throughout the entire Prime Day promotion, while “Lightning Deals” are only available for a short time on the site.

Amazon prime – which has recently increased its annual cost to $119 from $99 – includes additional perks such as access to Amazon Prime streaming services and free two-day shipping as part of its regular membership, which means even more savings on holiday purchases.

source: https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/holiday-shopping-summer-months.php