7 Pro Tips For Saving Money Every Time You Shop Online

Add these simple tips and tricks to your usual online shopping routine and you are guaranteed to save money on even the priciest items.
7 Pro Tips For Saving Money Every Time You Shop Online

Let’s admit it, we all love online shopping: there’s no need to wait in lines and you can shop from the comfort of your home. However, with all the temptation that exists online, it’s easy to fall into the trap of spending a lot more money than you need to. But don’t worry, there are so many tips and tricks on how to save money when you shop online, some that you may not even be aware of. Add these tips to your usual shopping routine and you are guaranteed to save money on even the priciest items.

1. Sign up for your favourite retailers’ emails

You may be reluctant to give out your email out of fear of filling your inbox with things you don’t need. However, giving one of your favourite shopping sites your email will open you up to a brand new world of savings that you would not be aware of otherwise. When you subscribe to a site, you will always be on top of the latest deals. Soon, your inbox will be filled with giveaway opportunities, exclusive coupon codes, and notifications of upcoming sales. Some will even offer you a discount on your next purchase just for signing up!

2. Shop around online and compare prices

You should always compare different prices for the same item while shopping online. One of the best resources to do this is Google Shopping, which allows you to compare an item’s price at a number of online retailers. Also, keep your eyes open for sites that have limited-time coupon codes at the top, which could get you an extra discount or free shipping.

image: pexels.com

3. Don’t overpay for shipping 

Ever shop online and find it impossible to hit the minimum spend and stick to your budget? For example, you qualify for free shipping with a minimum $30 purchase, however, every item online is priced at $25, so you end up buying $50 worth of merchandise. Retailers are very strategic when it comes to pricing and will find any way to get you to spend more than you may have intended in order to cover the costs of delivery (and then some). For e-retailers that also have brick-and-mortar locations, you should see if you can ship the item(s) to one of their stores for free, or if it’s currently available to shop in-store.

4. Check price matching policies

Believe it or not, a lot of big retailers (such as Hudson’s Bay and Nordstrom) have policies that will match their in-store/online prices with lower-selling prices from a competitor. You just have to make sure that the cheaper competitor item you’ve found is in the same size/colour as the one you want to purchase.

Image: pexels.com

5. Stack up coupons with cash-back deals

If you haven’t signed up for cash-back, you are definitely missing out. Cash-back works by giving you back a percentage of the money you spend when shopping online. When you combine cash back with coupon codes, you save even more on your online purchases. Case in point: Ebates, which can give you up to 25% cash back at more than 750 online stores (including Joe Fresh, Sephora, and Banana Republic) Another extension that can help you save major is called Honey. It automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout for over 30,000 shopping sites.

You can also earn discounts on future purchases when you pay with your credit card. Many cards offer special rewards and cash back on things like airfare and hotels. You can even earn rewards towards beauty products.

Image: pexels.com

6. Shop at the right times

If you know the store you’re shopping at has a sale coming up, you may want to hold off on making your purchase for now (unless you’re extremely worried it’s going to sell out). For example, you may want to wait to buy that coat from Hudson’s Bay until Bay Days is in full swing, or during their famous one-day sales.

7. Get price adjustments

It can be extremely frustrating to purchase something only to see the price drop when it goes on sale a short time later. Thankfully, many retailers allow for price adjustments within a certain time frame (i.e. Hudson’s Bay allows price adjustments within 7 days of purchase, as long as the original receipt is provided).

Featured image: Instagram/@fashionguruu90