To save money on Christmas shopping, forget Black Friday -- use Microsoft Edge, Bing, and Cortana

Holy cow, it is Thanksgiving week! Somehow the holidays just crept up on me this year. For retailers, this is of huge importance, as Black Friday is almost here. While I will probably do some shopping that day, I will avoid the craziness of Best Buy, Walmart and Target and focus on non-tech Christmas shopping at stores like Kohls.

So how will I save money on tech gifts then? Uhh, the Internet. Yes, I will look for deals online while preserving my sanity and avoiding long lines. According to Microsoft, leveraging Edge, Bing, and Cortana can help you save. Will you try?

"According to the National Retail Federation, consumers plan to spend an average of $805 on holiday merchandise this year. Bing is bringing you some relief by adding more data to product images, including prices for the same item sold at different stores, reviews and ratings and store availability. We’re rolling this out to desktop and mobile devices over the next few days, at which time all you need to do is search for an item on Bing Images, look for the shopping cart icon and scroll down to the 'Places to Buy Beta'. Bing also shows you visually similar products to the one you're looking at in case your original search is a little out of your desired price range", says The Search Team.

The team further explains, "Microsoft Edge notifies you of the best coupons Cortana can find for a retailer without you ever needing to leave the retailer’s site. Edge supports more than 100 retailers including Macy’s, Target, and Toys "R" Us through our partnership with Shopular, a leading coupon provider. When you visit one of the supported retailer sites, just click on the Cortana icon in the address bar to see available coupons".

While Edge is approaching Internet Explorer from a negative sentiment perspective, it is actually a really good browser. When on my Windows 10 machine, I will absolutely give Edge a go in an effort to save money. The coupon feature through Cortana is actually quite intriguing.

Still, I will also rely on old-school methods of rage-refreshing websites using Google Chrome, while perusing Techbargains.com over and over again. These features that Microsoft is offering will probably prove more useful for online shopping beginners. Experts like me, and most of you, dear BetaNews readers, can probably get by without it.

Will you try Microsoft's Christmas shopping features with Bing, Edge and Cortana? Tell me in the comments.

Photo Credit: Alliance/Shutterstock