Consumer Reports Price Tracker Helps You Shop Smarter

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you shop:

Don’t panic-shop. It’s easy to get caught up in the fear of rising prices, but don’t lose your cool and buy things you’ll later regret owning.

Don’t hold off on the items you already planned to purchase. If you’ve been gearing up to buy a new refrigerator, doing it now makes sense, especially if you have money budgeted for it. Big ticket items have larger margins than, say, a new coffee maker or blender, so companies may be more inclined to absorb the extra costs on those things in the short term. 

Choose reliable products. Higher prices could persist, so choose products that are likely to serve you well over the long term. CR members can use our ratings to review the most and least reliable brands in many categories, including central air conditioning systems, dishwashers, dryers, heat pumps, refrigerators, vacuums, and washing machines.

Shop for older models. TVs, laptops, and smartphones that are a year or two old often remain available at stores after newer models arrive. You can buy a 2024 MacBook Air with an M3 processor for as little as $850, for example. It performs almost as well as the new M4 version of the laptop.

Consider a used or refurbished product. While this advice doesn’t work equally well for all product categories, you might find that purchasing a factory-refreshed or gently used appliance, laptop, or phone can save you money. Apple, Best Buy, LG, Samsung, and others certify the products they resell and even offer new warranties. Items sold on eBay typically do not.

Use CR for Smart Buys and up-to-the-minute deals. Consult our ratings for help finding products with a nice price and admirable performance. Apple and Samsung both sell well-made, budget-friendly phones, for example. (See the iPhone SE and the Galaxy A25 5G.) They’re much less expensive than flagship models, but still do virtually everything you want a modern smartphone to do.

Consumer Reports also has a devoted team of deal seekers who continually round up the best bargains on highly rated products. Find their picks at the CR deals hub.