Strategies to Spend Less on Clothing and Online Shopping in 2025

It's easy to spend less on clothing and other goods when shopping online. Arm yourself with these expert tricks and tools that will help you grab a bargain.

By Emma Patch, Jason Steele, Anne Kates Smith, Ella Vincent, Liisa Rajala, David Milstead, Nellie S. Huang

published 31 July 2025

in Features

A woman looking at the price tag of a top on a clothing rail

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s always a good time to get a good deal. But as tariffs take effect on some imported goods — and as the Trump administration continues to negotiate tariffs with other countries — you may be especially interested right now in how you can save money while you shop.

Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine has taken the time to assess how you can find deals this year on investments, groceries, electronics, clothing, cars and travel, as well as how to take advantage of credit card perks — with a special emphasis on finding deals for products and services most prone to rising prices as the trade war evolves. In this article, we look at deals on clothing and online shopping. (See below to find links to our other articles about deals.)

The vast majority of clothing sold in the U.S. is imported, and much of it comes from China, which has been a top target for President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Use these strategies to stay on budget as you shop for apparel.

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A tried-and-true way to save money on clothing is to shop out of season — say, by buying summer clothes in the fall. You’ll often find off-season clothing on clearance racks at drastically reduced prices, says Breyana Wright, stylist and owner of style consulting firm Styled by Breyana.

Are you a member of Costco Wholesale or Sam’s Club? Look for brand-name clothes and shoes — especially activewear — at bargain prices.

Recently, for example, Sam’s Club sold a pair of men’s Adidas fleece pants for less than $12. You may find great deals on other types of clothing, too. Costco.com, for example, recently listed a Nicole Miller wrap dress for $20 on sale.

Shop secondhand

To find high-quality, gently used clothing, Anna LaPlaca, senior fashion editor of fashion publication Who What Wear, suggests checking out online consignment stores such as The RealReal, Poshmark and ThredUp. You may find steep discounts on designer apparel.

A men’s Polo Ralph Lauren jacket that typically sells for $350, for example, was recently available at The RealReal for $115.

On Poshmark, an Emporio Armani dress had an $89 price tag, compared with a $434 retail price.

And a pair of Tory Burch women’s heels sold for $34, compared with a standard price of $68, on ThredUp.

Another money-saving idea: Host a clothing-swap party with friends and family. Set clear guidelines for how many items you and your guests will trade and take home, and try to gather a wide variety of sizes for participants to choose from.

Get the best price with online shopping tools

Since the invention of the price tag, savvy shoppers have tried to divine the right time to buy an item they’ve had an eye on for the lowest price. And snagging bargains with coupons never goes out of style. The tools and browser extensions below automate these tasks.

CamelCamelCamel
Amazon.com shoppers can use this free website and browser extension to track fast-changing prices. You can see a history of price changes on products listed on Amazon and get alerts when the price drops on an item you’re tracking.

Honey
This browser extension, owned by PayPal, automatically applies coupons when you check out at more than 30,000 e-commerce sites.

Capital One Shopping
This online tool is available to everyone — you don’t have to be a customer of Capital One’s banking or credit card services to use it. Once you install the browser extension, it will apply coupons automatically at checkout and notify you when a price drops on an item you’re tracking.

Another feature: When you shop with select brands, you can collect rewards as a percentage back of your purchase, and they’re exchangeable for electronic gift cards.

SlickDeals
This mobile app and browser extension automatically applies coupons when you check out at retail websites. SlickDeals also features cash-back offers when you make purchases at select online stores.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

Nellie joined Kiplinger in August 2011 after a seven-year stint in Hong Kong. There, she worked for the Wall Street Journal Asia, where as lifestyle editor, she launched and edited Scene Asia, an online guide to food, wine, entertainment and the arts in Asia. Prior to that, she was an editor at Weekend Journal, the Friday lifestyle section of the Wall Street Journal Asia. Kiplinger isn't Nellie's first foray into personal finance: She has also worked at SmartMoney (rising from fact-checker to senior writer), and she was a senior editor at Money.