Waiting to Christmas Shop Could Pay

Consumer Reports said last week that more than a third of consumers hadn't bought a thing on their Christmas shopping lists, but that could work in your favor.

The coupon website Rather-Be-Shopping.com has crunched the numbers checking out data from the last few years to figure out when's the best time to buy. Turns out., if you've put off getting gifts, you're in luck.

"Toy sellers, they are not necessarily having the best prices early in December," Rather-Be-Shopping.com's Kyle James said. "They want people to pay full price for as long as possible, so right around Dec. 16 is when we historically see the best coupons and deals."

That means typically Dec. 16 through Dec. 18 or 19 is a really good time to shop.

Rather-Be-Shopping.com said Dec. 15 is typically a great day to buy laptops. Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart, Target and Costco will often have markdowns or coupons.

If you're in the market to buy shoes or clothes, wait until Friday. James said nearly 900 retailers will offer free guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve.

"The cool thing about that is that a lot of these apparel websites — Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle — a lot of times they'll throw a 30 or 40 percent coupon code and on top of the free shipping," he said. "So it's one of the best days of the year to shop for apparel and shoes."