9 Smart Ways to Save Money When Shopping

Online shopping has become the most popular way of purchasing items and services in the past couple of years. And it’s no wonder. Online shopping is quick, easy, convenient, and hassle-free.

However, as fun as it may be, it is also easier to waste more money that way. Moreover, companies have come up with clever methods to increase prices and earn more money. Luckily, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to save a couple of bucks during your next shopping spree. Let’s start.

1. Join Mailing Lists and Loyalty Clubs

To increase their customer reach, companies often create mailing lists and loyalty clubs. There, they offer significant discounts for members, all of which you can use to your advantage. Moreover, you will likely get a chance to collect points for every purchase. Then, you can use these points for additional discounts, free gifts, free shipping, or other useful perks.

2. Use Cashback Apps

Cashback apps have become extremely popular in recent years, thanks to massive social media promotion, and the fact that they actually work. These cashback companies often partner with large distributors and websites to create a mutually-beneficial relationship. They offer a percentage of your purchase back to you. Although these amounts are small, over time, they can rack up to be quite valuable.

3. Use a VPN to Beat Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is a model that offers different prices according to various sets of factors – location, access history, and search history. Sometimes, the difference in price can be quite significant, which is precisely why you should use this tip to beat the system. VPN (virtual private network) is the best way to do so. When using a VPN, your IP address is disguised. Hence, all your previous shopping habits, as well as physical location, will be hidden. As a result, you will receive better prices. Besides using a VPN, you can also clear browsing data and use the Incognito mode to shop.

4. Look for Coupon Codes

A lot of websites offer coupon codes to draw the customer in and create more sales. However, when you have a lot of different websites to shop from, collecting all these coupons can be tricky. Luckily, there are dedicated apps and websites you can find that collect coupon codes and publish them in a single place. All you need to do is to perform a quick Google search by typing in store name + coupon codes.

5. Purchase Cheap Gift Cards

Most stores offer gift cards you can use to make purchases on their websites. However, you can beat the system even further by purchasing discounted gift cards from platforms such as CardCash or Raise. These websites act as marketplaces for individuals who have unused gift cards they’d like to get rid of. Hence, you can find some amazing deals on there.

6. Use Apps to Save Money

We have already briefly mentioned the use of apps for saving money when online shopping. Platforms like Honey, Groupon, and PriceGrabber are great resources that collect discount codes, offer limited-time deals or discounted services. You can find a wide variety of products on thee apps, ranging from household items to trips, concert tickets, and home décor.

7. Leave Desired Items in Your Cart

Leaving items in your cart doesn’t necessarily mean you have to buy. However, it can mean that you will soon receive an email about the things that are left in the cart, alongside a discount code, to encourage you to proceed with your purchase. Often, you can even score a 10-20% discount!

8. Choose the Right Day for Shopping

Companies almost always offer great deals and discounts during holidays, such as Christmas, New Year’s, 4th of July, Halloween, etc. This is well-known, though, and many shoppers are aware of it. What they might not be aware of is that some websites offer discounts on specific days – e.g., Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If you’re looking to purchase airplane tickets, then shopping on Sundays is your best bet. Plus, always follow up on Cyber Mondays, Green Mondays, Amazon Prime Days, and Black Friday deals.

9. Utilize Price Matching

A lot of well-known companies participate in a price matching program. The goal of this is to match their competition and rack in more sales. This is how it works:

• Look for the desired item in one of the stores, such as Walmart
• Check the prices for the same item on other retailers’ websites – Target, 7/11, etc.
• If the second retailer offers a lower price, show proof to Walmart’s employees, and they will either match the price or give you a coupon code to cover the difference in prices.

We advise you to always use these methods before finalizing a purchase. You are guaranteed to receive at least one discount, if not more. To summarize – join as many loyalty clubs as possible, use a VPN to beat dynamic pricing, and use apps to receive coupon codes and cashback opportunities. Now that you’ve become an online shopping pro, we can only say – have fun shopping!