Get ready to save money shopping online! We all like to save money where possible, and online shopping is no different. If you’ve ever wondered how to save money when making purchases on the web, then these online shopping tips and tricks are perfect for you to try. There are some seriously clever ways for you to use next time you log on!
We are living in an ever growing online world, and this has made a lot of things easier – including shopping!
Whether you embrace the ease of shopping online, or use it sparingly – I’m sure that you would like to grab a bargain wherever possible.
After all, there’s always something we need to buy – food, groceries, gifts etc…. –and that’s where this post comes in!
If you’ve ever asked yourself “How can I save money while shopping”, and want some online shopping tips and tricks – then this post will help you do just that.
I really hope they help you to get the best deal you can the next time to you need to make any purchases online – good luck!
#1 – Buy At The Best Time
For example – Christmas items are always best bought in January, Holiday stuff in the Autumn etc… – so if you can plan your shopping for the right time rather than buying at peak when prices are their highest, you’ll be saving a lot without doing much at all!
#2 – Stock Up When On Sale
If you know that you buy something regularly, and it’s on sale, then buy it in bulk and you’ll save loads over the course of using it up.
I do this a LOT for non perishable groceries like toilet rolls, shampoo, drinks etc…
TIP – Only stock up though if you have space to store things. You don’t want to be living in a cluttered home – however much you saved on the items!
#3 – Stop Brand Loyalty
If you find yourself buying the same foods and toiletries week in/week out, then stop yourself and see if there are cheaper alternatives to try out.
If you make 2-3 swaps for each shopping trip, you can test things out – and you may be surprised to find that there are cheaper items that are just as good, if not better.
{#4 – #6} – 4 Ways To Save On Online Delivery Charges
It’s all too easy to just click OK when it gets to delivery charges online.
We have spent a long time choosing what we want to buy, so we definitely want it delivered – and often don’t give it a second thought.
But delivery charges can be hefty – so here are some ways to save on this part of shopping online: –
- See if the terms and conditions give you free delivery after spending a certain amount. If you are just under that amount, or know you’ll need something else soon – why not add it in now and save the delivery charge?
- Search online for “THE SHOP free delivery coupon code” where THE SHOP is of course the shop you are buying from. There are often delivery codes online that you can use – and you’ve saved money all for a few clicks!
- Deliver to a local store rather than your home. A lot of shops now offer this because it’s easier for them to deliver in bulk and know that the store will be open to take delivery. If there is a local collection point for you – save time and hassle by choosing this option (hassle would be if they tried to deliver and you were out and had to rearrange or go to your post office to collect anyway!).
- Speculate to accumulate – by this I mean there are delivery options for certain shops where you can pay an annual fee and get free delivery for the year. If you shop regularly at a certain shop, weigh up whether this option would save you money. Some places that offer this are Amazon (Amazon Prime – pricey, but there are lots of other benefits you can take advantage of as well as free delivery), ASOS, Next and many of the Supermarkets.
{#7 – #9} – Get Cash Back – 3 Different Ways To Try
There are a few ways to earn cash back when you shop – which is money for nothing really…
- Cash back sites like Quidco and TopCashback (Ebates in the US) offer cash back deals when you click through their site to buy anything. Easy to set up and VERY worthwhile.
- Pay using a cash back credit card. This comes with a huge warning though. If you can’t pay the credit card back each month then AVOID this method as it will cost you a lot more than you save. If you CAN though, this is a great way to earn a little extra (you can find credit cards that offer cash, OR, like us, use a credit card from a store you use a lot so you get vouchers from them regularly).
- Use loyalty cards. Stores often give you vouchers for points, or money off – so if you use a store a lot it’s definitely worth signing up and using your card!
and on the note of signing up….
#10 – Get On The Mailing List
If you love a store, and don’t mind getting emails from them, then it’s worth signing up to their mailing list. Subscribers often get discounts throughout the year, or knowledge of sales etc…
TIP – Add your birthday if you’re OK with giving them that detail about yourself – because often you get a special offer/treat when that date rolls around!
TIP – If you don’t want to get added to a mailing list, then why not like them on Facebook or other social media – as they often use these as ways to incentivise buyers with codes and sales.
#11 – Abandon Your Basket
VERY cheeky – but VERY effective sometimes.
You see – when you are online and you visit websites, the owners of those sites can track what you look at and how you browse.
This helps a business owner to know what is and isn’t working – so they can better your customer experience and make sure the products they choose are what you want to look at – but it can work in your favour a lot of the time too.
You often see that when you’ve been browsing an online shop, ads for that shop appear on other sites a lot. This is because they’ve seen you are interested in that product and are happy to pay to advertise it in front of you again.
If you go one step further and add the item to your basket, when you are logged into that shop, you may find you get a voucher sent to you soon afterwards…. just an idea to try!
{#12-#16} – Find Deals (5 Great Ways)
Some deals are one off – and others are always there – it’s just knowing where to look!
- Amazon do a “Subscribe & Save” service where you can sign up to get regular deliveries of certain items (we use it for some food items that we can’t get at our local store), and you can earn 5-15% discount depending on what you buy. Definitely worthwhile to take a look at.
- You can do a google search for “coupon code YOUR SHOP” where you change the words YOUR SHOP for the shop you are buying from – and often you will find a code you can use for a discount. This is so easy, and takes a few minutes only!
- Buy with cheaper gift cards. There’s a site called Zeek that offers unused gift cards for less than their face value (they buy ones you don’t want/need and sell them on). This means that if you check there before you buy – and they have a gift card for that store – you can buy that card for less than it’s value and save a little by using it for your shopping. Genius!
- Check whether you have the best deal by doing a quick search in google for the product name you are about to buy. When you click on their SHOPPING tab and search, you will be able to quickly see if anyone is selling at a lower price.
- Use a deals site such as Groupon or Wowcher for your shopping. These sites are worth checking regularly – along with a list of things you’re looking to buy (be careful not to spend on things you don’t really need as that’s too easy!).
#17 – Buy Second Hand – Or Free!
The beauty of being able to search around from the comfort of your own living room means you can find out whether you can grab a real bargain very easily.
There are places such as eBay, Facebook groups etc… that sell second hand items that may well be perfect for you instead of paying full price (I have bought a lot of dresses from eBay in the past which were a bargain, as I had looked for a dress on there that was out of season that I missed in the shops.
It was there for a fraction of the RRP, and I found a couple of similar ones while I was there as well. All came to under what I would have paid for that one dress in the shop…).
Other things I think are sensible to buy second hand often are kids clothes, books and furniture…
You could also check out Freecycle to see if anyone is giving away a similar item to what you need in your local area.
You never know!
Ideally these tips to save money shopping online will help you to make the most of your cash wherever possible – and the best tip I can finish this post with is to let you know that you can, of course, try and use as many of them at once on each of your purchases!
sssh – don’t tell anyone – but why not challenge yourself to see how many different ways you can save next time you’re shopping online – you may be very surprised at the results!
For example – I use Quidco for cashback on my shopping.
I have cashback in my Quidco account and decide to cash it in. Instead of getting cash, they have a deal that you can get vouchers instead – usually for a slight increase in value of your cashback.
I use these vouchers to pay for a new purchase (also tracked through Quidco for more cashback), and I pay using a cashback credit card.
There was a sale on at the shop I bought from, so I also stocked up as I know that I will use the products over the coming months.
Another example – I have a set of favourite shops that I often use to buy gifts for people. I sign up to their mailing list and get a voucher for a percentage off my purchase.
As I know what birthdays are coming up, I’ll buy more than one present in this purchase as I’ll get money off them all. I use my cash back credit card and ask for delivery to a local store that’s on my way home – saving delivery charge.
See how the savings can easily stack up!
Go on – try it for yourself, and I hope that you make some great savings next time you log on…
I feel that I should add a little word of warning – as it wouldn’t be right otherwise!. Only ever buy what you can afford. Nothing is a saving if you didn’t need to buy it in the first place – whatever the deal is! and lastly – if you use a cashback credit card – ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS pay back in full each month – lecture over ;o)
