Online shopping has exploded as of late, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Of course, this comes as no surprise when you consider all of the advantages of shopping online, as brick and mortar stores have a hard time competing when it comes to convenience and savings. And if you want to stay safe at home during the pandemic, online shopping is ideal there too.
Is simply shopping online a way to ensure you always pay the least for your purchases? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Follow these tips, however, and saving becomes rather simple:
Get Discounts via Messages
Go to almost any online store, and you’ll see a place where you can sign up for emails or text alerts. Before you think such messages will only annoy you, know that they can save you money with special deals.
What happens if you no longer want to shop at that store or they send you too many messages? You can unsubscribe, and they won’t bother you again. In short, signing up for alerts offers way more reward than risk.
Never Pay for Shipping
What’s one area where brick and mortar stores have online shopping beat? Shipping costs, because if you buy something in person, you won’t have to pay to have it shipped.
While you can always get free shipping by subscribing to Amazon Prime, for example, there are other ways to avoid shipping costs.
In many cases, stores will offer free shipping if you buy past a certain dollar amount. Some may offer it if you sign up to their email or text list. Others, meanwhile, might offer free shipping if you have their store credit card.
2023
Tax Forgiveness
We know how challenging it can be to pay off your tax debt.
The IRS just announced the 2023 Fresh Start Program, to qualify more people for tax relief!
Look for Deals on These “Dull” Days
Online shopping traffic tends to drop from Tuesday to Thursday. Retailers know this, and they may offer discounts on those days to make their traffic surge. By not only shopping on the weekends, you may find better deals more often.
Become a Follower
Whether it’s following your favorite brands or popular social media influencers, you can find occasional deals this way when they drop promo codes for limited periods. It only takes a second to click follow, and you can always unfollow when you feel like it, so you have nothing to lose.
Put Something in Your Cart and Leave It
You can test a website for possible deals by using the abandoned cart trick. Simply put an item in your online shopping cart, exit the site, and wait.
Depending on the retailer, they may send you an email or text with a special offer. They’ll do it as they see your interest and want to push that sale before you shop somewhere else or become uninterested.
Use Money-Saving Internet Tools
Apps like Capital One Shopping (aka Wikibuy) and Honey make it ridiculously easy to save via coupon codes, low-price alerts, and more. With them (and many more) at your disposal, there’s no excuse not to save when shopping online.