(BPT) - The holidays are around the corner, and economic pressures are reshaping consumer behavior when it comes to shopping, buying gifts, and celebrating the season. In fact, a new survey from PayPal revealed 1 in 5 respondents are feeling anxious about holiday shopping this year. To help combat this anxiety, nearly half (49%) of people are planning to seek out promotions and deals as they shop for gifts¹.

Savvy shoppers know that one of the best ways to stretch a gifting budget and cross everyone off your list is by maximizing the rewards and cashback you can receive from each purchase. In fact, one in four (26%) people surveyed said they plan to wait to buy a gift until they find the best sale or rewards and cashback offer. With holiday sales upon us, these tips will help you strategically earn and leverage rewards and cashback to become a smart holiday shopper.

1. Pile on the rewards

If you're shopping, you should be earning rewards - plain and simple! If you've already been racking up rewards points during the year, the holiday season is a great time to use them. But if you don't already use a rewards program, it's not too late to start collecting and redeeming points for exclusive discounts and cash back offers.

You can earn PayPal Rewards by shopping cash back offers from thousands of stores in the PayPal app, or while you shop using the PayPal Honey shopping extension. Better yet, you can stack your rewards. Points earned in the PayPal app are in addition to the rewards earned with your preferred rewards-based credit or debit card when checking out with PayPal². If you use the PayPal Cashback Mastercard^®3, you'll earn 3% cash back in addition to rewards earned in the PayPal app when you use the card to check out, and 2% on all other purchases - with no cash back limits, no categories and no annual fee⁴. A smart shopping move, indeed.

2. Don't leave cash back on the table

While you're on the hunt for the perfect gifts and deals, leaving cash back opportunities unclaimed is like walking away from free money. The beauty of cash back is that it provides you with real, tangible savings and better equips you to tick off names from your gift list without emptying your wallet. PayPal offers a one-stop shop for cash back convenience and makes it easy to maximize your cash back potential, making the most of your holiday budget.

You can shop exclusive cash back offers from your favorite stores in the PayPal app, on everything from beauty, to fashion, or the toys that are topping every kid's wish list. Simply save the offers you're interested in and they'll be automatically applied when you check out with PayPal online. Even better, you can also stack credit card rewards on top of existing deals you find in the PayPal app. For example, if you shop with the PayPal Cashback Mastercard^®, you'll earn 3% cashback when checking out with PayPal in addition to what you gain from offers while shopping in the PayPal app.

Earning cashback is a great way to shop smarter and make the holiday season truly memorable.

3. Automate your deal searching

Don't let the busyness of the season prevent you from scoring some of the best offers on your holiday shopping. Consumers often spend hours searching for discounts, when they could be out enjoying the holiday season. Consider adding the PayPal Honey shopping extension to your holiday shopping routine, which will automatically search for coupons and cashback deals to apply at checkout⁵.

Whether you're looking for the latest tech gift for a gadget-obsessed teenager, new fashion for your best friend or booking a trip home for the holidays, the PayPal Honey shopping extension can save you time - and money - by searching millions of promo codes at thousands of sites in seconds and discovering cash back deals to take your holiday budget further.

4. Be sales savvy and price watch

Being a smart shopper isn't just about finding the right gifts - it's also about finding the right time to shop at the best price. Shopping around can help you score the best deals on gifts for the holidays, but with so much on your plate this season, it can be hard to find the time. Price trackers like the PayPal Honey Droplist feature can help.

PayPal Honey Droplist will monitor the price of an item you're interested in and automatically notify you if the price drops - so you can hit buy at the right moment and snag the best discount. Plus, when you shop using PayPal Honey, you earn PayPal Rewards which can be converted to cash back.

In the past 12 months, PayPal has put more than $200 million back in customer pockets with cash back and offers⁶. Are you one of the savvy shoppers that took advantage of cash back and deals this year? If not, it's never too late. Using these tips, you should be able to shop smarter, not harder, this year - so you can stretch your holiday budget and enjoy all the fun and festivities the season has to offer.

1. PayPal Consumer Survey October 2023 (1,000 respondents).
2. Subject to card issuer's terms and conditions.
3. Applications are subject to credit approval. The PayPal Cashback Mastercard is issued by Synchrony Bank pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Purchases are subject to credit approval, and the PayPal Cashback Mastercard must be used for payment. See Rewards Program Terms for details and restrictions.
4. See Terms and Rates for New Accounts.
5. Eligible items only. Redeem points for cash and other rewards. Requires account with PayPal in good standing. Terms and exclusions apply.
6. Internal PayPal Data October 2023.