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X-Ray's Rhodri Owen helps out some festive shoppers in Cardiff

With only three weeks to go, bargain hunters across Wales are hitting the streets in search of a Christmas deal. 

Last December 3.3 million people shopped in Cardiff spending over £100 million. And it’s hoped this year will be even bigger.

But in the current financial doom and gloom retailers are having to do all they can to get our Christmas custom - so wherever you look there are deals to be had.

X-Ray spoke to David Hughes-Lewis from the Cardiff Retail Partnership who told us the run up to Christmas this year will be key, “The next four weeks for all retailers is absolutely critical. It has been such a hard, hard year for all of us but for all retailers the next four weeks are absolutely harvest time.� 
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Cardiff’s Toys R Us Manager Adam Ovenstone echoes this and says they’ve emailed three million people with vouchers to get extra custom, “With money being really tight this year we are having to do massive promotions within the store. A lot of three for twos, buy one get one frees. People are looking for where they can save money.�

We sent X-Ray’s Rhodri Owen out onto the capital’s streets to see if he could grab himself a bargain. But whilst shopping for Lucy, he found it almost impossible to work out which deals offered the best value for money. 

For example in four shops there were several different special offers on a pair of ladies black leather gloves  – M&S had 25 per cent off, Debenhams had 30 per cent off, New Look were doing three for the price of two and Tie Rack had buy one and get one for half price!

Rhodri had more luck with a voucher from mobile phone app. You can also print these off beforehand from many of the voucher websites now available. He managed to save £7.60 on some smellies from Crabtree and Evelyn for his mum.

But then he had a go at haggling. Wanting to buy Cars 2 DVD for his son, he’d found it on the internet for £11. But after trying HMV, Argos and WH Smith he hadn’t got very far. According to marketing expert Paul Buckley, “You would probably have better luck if you went to an independent because you can then get to the owner or manager.�

There are many deals to be had on the high street but X-Ray did discover that a survey of some of the top Christmas gifts for this year found buying them online, and using a cashback website would save £460.

But as Paul mentioned there are benefits to hitting the high street, “On the other side of the coin you can’t really see what the product is like until you get it. And don’t forget generally returns are a little bit easier than on the high street.� 

One final trick Rhodri discovered was a new mobile phone app called RedLaser (others include Bar Code and Quick Scan). He was able to show shoppers whether they could have saved money elsewhere locally or online. The app photographs the barcode on the back of the item and searches for better prices.

X-Ray’s High Street Christmas Shopping Advice
• Write a list and take it with you. Try not to be swayed away from it!
• Research prices on the internet so you know the value of an item and what people are prepared to pay for it.
• Spend some time walking around and taking in the deals. Compare prices between stores before handing over your cash.
• Make sure you keep any vouchers given to you by shops beforehand in a safe place in your wallet so you always have them.
• Three For Twos and Buy One Get One Half Price deals are great if you need to buy multiple gifts but don’t be swayed into buying more than you need. If you only want one then a discounted price will be better value.
• Print off online vouchers from websites like Voucher Cloud, Voucher Codes and myvouchercodes and remember to take them with you.
• Keep a daily look out for deals on group buying sites like Groupon, KGB and Living Social – but only buy the deals for the presents you need.
• If you have a smart phone you can download voucher apps like Voucher Cloud and when you are in town you can search for nearby deals.
• Have a go at haggling – it can’t harm. But it’s usually easier in an independent store. Go armed with online prices to prove the price you expect.