Our shopping habits have changed over the last decade or so, and more people are turning to online purchases. They’re easy to make, you can shop when it suits you and many companies offer attractive deals for people buying online. Not only that, but you also have hundreds of choices available at your fingertips.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen an even bigger shift to online shopping, with millions of people confined to their homes to flatten the curve. Given the extra time you have on your hands, there’s no harm in learning a few online shopping hacks to save yourself some money.
Here are some to get you started:
It’s all in the timing
There are a lot of studies that have analyzed the busiest days on online shopping platforms. Most show that people tend to make online purchases on Sundays and Mondays. A lot of retailers have taken note of this, and some have even gone as far as offering discounts to those who shop from Tuesday to Thursday as these are their slowest days. Therefore, browse as much as you like over the weekend but wait until midweek to do the buying.
Look for savings
Some online retailers sell their items at a lower price if you buy two or more of the same products. There’s no need to buy a duplicate of something that you don’t need but speak to friends or family to see if they want the product and are prepared to halve the costs with you.
When it comes to goods that you buy monthly, consider placing an order for the whole year if it’s going to save you some money. For example, Checkout Saver will help you get magazine subscriptions at greatly reduced rates. You can save a lot of money using this hack.
Save on delivery fees
Most online retailers offer free or reduced-price shipping if you place an order valued at a specified amount or more. Without doing so, the shipping could cost more than your purchase.
If your purchase is close to the necessary order value, shop for some essentials to make up the difference. Otherwise, make your purchase with someone else so that the total exceeds the limit, and you’ll get your products shipped for free. Your other alternative is to wait until your cart is full enough to entitle you to free shipping if you are prepared to bide your time.
Keep up to date on sales
There’s nothing worse than buying something online only to see it reduced by 50% the next week. If you want to make the most of sales, you need to monitor them. Follow your favorite brands on social media for updates about sales. Subscribe to their newsletters as this is often where sales are promoted ahead of time.
Sales are often held in the middle of the month when people are less inclined to spend money. If you don’t have the money to make the most of these sales, use a credit card. However, be sure to pay it off as soon as you can.
Get a discount
Many retailers have a discount code that they give to first-time buyers. Follow social media influencers as they often provide you with access to discounted prices if you quote the codes they offer you.
Find out if you qualify for loyalty points when you shop on a particular platform and take advantage of them to get a discount. You can also use the live chat function on the site to ask for a discount. The answer might be no nine times out of ten, but you won’t know unless you ask.
