10 Ways Shoppers Can Still Score Deals Despite Tariffs

If you don’t want your inbox to fill up with promotions from retailers, Bodge recommends setting up an email account specifically for those alerts. Another strategy is to follow brands on social media to see when they have sales or special offers.

Use price-tracking tools

You don’t have to shop in the dark. “It’s important to use price tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel to see how prices have changed on products sold by Amazon, for example, and recognize when they might be impacted by tariffs,” Wang says.

Although CamelCamelCamel tracks only Amazon prices, other tools, such as the PayPal Honey browser extension and Slickdeals, offer price histories for products sold by various retailers. This information can be helpful when assessing whether you’re actually getting a good deal.

Clip digital coupons

Technology makes it easy to find and use coupons for online and in-store shopping. For example, most supermarkets have free mobile apps that offer coupons you can download directly to your store’s loyalty card. The discounts are automatically applied when you swipe your loyalty card at checkout.

You can also find digital and printable coupons for hundreds of retailers by visiting sites such as CouponCabin.com and CouponFollow.com, which offer roundups of the day’s top coupons and allow you to search by retailer. Both have browser extensions you can download to your web browser to find coupons for items you’re shopping for online; those coupons are automatically applied when you check out. Other coupon browser extensions are available from Slickdeals, PayPal Honey and Cently.

Get cash back on purchases

In addition to looking for sales and coupons, you can offset rising prices by getting cash back when you shop. One way to do this is by using a cash-back credit card that gives you a small percentage of money back on qualifying purchases. Some cards offer varying percentages of cash back depending on the type of product you’re buying.

Another strategy is to shop through cash-back websites and apps. For example, you can create a free account at Rakuten.com or with the Rakuten app, choose from more than 3,500 stores and earn a percentage of your purchase as cash back. Other popular cash-back sites and apps include BeFrugal, Ibotta and Swagbucks. To maximize your spending, use a cash-back credit card when making purchases through cash-back sites.

Consider signing up for subscribe-and-save deals

For items you regularly buy, such as pet food, shampoo and cleaning supplies, look for retailers that offer discounts when you sign up for recurring shipments. Amazon and pet-product retailer Chewy.com have been offering discounts on recurring purchases for years. Walmart.com launched a subscription service in 2023. More and more retailers are offering these kinds of subscribe-and-save deals.

The savings can be significant. For example, Petco is offering 35 percent off your first dog food purchase and 5 percent off future orders when you sign up for repeat orders of select dog food brands, and PetSmart is offering 40 percent off first auto-ship orders. Don’t want to make that kind of long-term commitment? “In many cases, you can cancel after the first shipment, as long as you’re willing to wait for your product, because it has to be on their shipment schedule,” Wang says.

Shop sustainably

You can avoid tariffs altogether by buying secondhand items. Bodge says she’s found new clothing items with the original price tags on them at consignment stores and thrift shops. You can also find deals on refurbished electronics at major retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy and Target. “That’s a really good way to save money on your tech,” Bodge says.

If you don’t like the idea of digging through racks and bins at a thrift shop, there are other options. “There are actually tons of websites selling quality, gently-used items in all the categories you’re looking for: Reverb for music equipment, Relay Goods for footwear, Back Market for tech, Sideline Swap for sporting gear, ThredUp and Mercari for clothing, and so many more,” says Jen Smith, Sirianni’s co-founder of the Frugal Friends podcast and co-author of Buy What You Love Without Going Broke.

Look for local alternatives

“Certainly, buying American-made items will support local jobs and reduce tariff exposure in theory, but it’s not a guaranteed way to save money,” Smith says. But spending a little time to research what’s available in your community could help you identify items selling for prices comparable to — or less than — imported goods.

“There are some products that I prefer to buy locally because I don’t buy them often, and I like supporting local businesses,” Wang says. “For example, we turn to local florists that source flowers in the region, rather than national chains or grocery stores that may get their flowers internationally.”