Savvy shopping tips for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond

Holiday shopping has changed a lot in the last few years. With more consumers doing their buying online each year, heading to the Web for gifts is the new norm. While the Web is an infinitely valuable resource for shopping, allowing you to get your checklist finished off without leaving your home, you can find smarter ways to approach buying holiday gifts on the Web.

Keep these tips in mind when you're shopping online for holiday gifts:

* Pay attention to what the hot items are. It seems like there's at least one particularly in-demand toy every year, but you should also pay attention to what's selling fast beyond kids' gifts. For instance, laptops are big sellers at the holidays - this will likely have two effects. First, retailers will be eagerly offering deals. Second, they'll go fast. With those two factors in play, you need to pay attention and act quickly. By going to a site like DealsofAmerica.com, which is updated with new offers multiple times every hour, you'll be able to find the best cheap laptop deals as soon as they're available.

* Do some research. To get what you (or your gift recipients) want, you need to do a bit of studying and look at factors beyond the price. Be sure you know all the features you want on a particular item like an mp3 player, and write down shoe and garment sizes if you're going to be buying clothes. With items like laptops, you'll have a number of different factors to consider, even within a single brand. However, if you know the brand you want to give, that's half the battle. For instance, if you know you'll be buying an HP computer or laptop, you can simplify shopping by searching for HP coupons to save upto $400 or more.

* Shop the big days, but don't worry if you miss them. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will certainly be hectic shopping days in malls and online, with stores offering deep discounts to get people in the door or onto their website. While it's ideal to get some shopping done on these days, it's not always feasible, and other gift needs will come up later. Even if that's the case, you can still get great online deals by utilizing sites like DealsofAmerica that constantly update with the top deals being offered by retailers and manufacturers. Some can help you get discounts of up to 80 percent, depending on what you're shopping for.

* Remember that deals and coupons are often two different things. Many more consumers have gotten wise to searching for coupons that offer a percentage or dollar discount or free shipping, and many websites will offer you a selection of coupon offers from certain retailers. However, looking for discounts and deals is another way to get lower prices on the gifts you want. Instead of applying a coupon code, you'll be buying at a reduced price.

As you head to the computer along with millions of other Americans this holiday shopping season, remember that a bit of shopping savvy can help you get exactly what you need and keep some extra cash in your wallet.