TAMPA, Fla. — Have you started holiday shopping yet? Whether you plan to do your shopping online or in the store, grab that computer or smartphone. They will be your best friends either way!
Google technology expert, Molly Vandenberg has some advice on how to find the hot gifts and where to get them for the best price. She says the key is to start as soon as possible.
"When you're searching online on Google shopping, when you click on a particular item, it's going to be able to show you whether the price for that item is either low, typical or high based on what we've seen before," she said.
After that, you can compare prices to find the best one.
"It's going to compare prices on websites all across the internet and it's also going to include shipping costs into that estimate so you can really factor that into your budget," she said.
If you really don't want to worry about shipping, Vandenberg says there's an option for that too.
"So there is an 'in stock' filter that you can turn on and it will identify where in your neighborhood that product might be available which should really help you save time," she said.
If you are doing most of your shopping online, make sure you are keeping your information as secure as possible.
"The best thing you can do as you're creating different accounts on these websites to be able to check out, make sure that you're using unique strong passwords," she said.
Vandenberg says using only one password is like having one key that opens your home, car and office and it can really make you vulnerable online.