Online shopping might be one of the most revolutionary inventions in the 21st century. In addition to the convenience of getting a lot of great items delivered to your doorstep, you can actually also score great deals when you know how to. Here are some tips and tricks you should try.
Consider Timing Wisely
Timing can make a very big difference when shopping online. If you know when to time your purchases, you can enjoy huge discounts. Most online shops give out coupons on the second of the month, or on the 27th or 28th, says Hilary Mendelsohn, who authored “The Purplebook” online shopping series.
While coupon codes can give you great discounts, stores do not always release them to aggregate sites. As for Mendelsohn, she registered a free email account and used that address to sign up for coupons at the stores where she regularly shops. When she is ready for a purchase, she logs into the account and makes a quick search. Then, she ends up with instant coupons.
Avoid Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing is an effective strategy that online retailers use to offer different price ranges to different customers based on a wide variety of market factors. This technique has become more sophisticated and more specific now that websites can even track your internet surfing habits and have an intimate knowledge about your online behavior. This means that different people with different spending habits in different locations might have a significant difference in pricing.
The best way to avoid getting charged higher is to prevent these websites from applying dynamic pricing to you. To do so, you can erase your cookies or always try to make use of your browser’s incognito or private browsing feature so it does not recognize where you are.
Take Note of Big Online Events
Just like shopping malls and physical stores, dates play a big part in online shopping as well. While everyone knows Black Friday and Cyber Monday, broadening your knowledge about other online events can help you score great deals. This way, you don’t compete with too many people who know only of the popular dates and get yourself an advantage with premium goods.
The different shopping websites have different dates that you should be aware of. Sometimes, websites offer a “flash sale” where great discounts are offered on short notice or even unannounced.
Get Social
You should follow your favorite brands on Facebook and Instagram. While you can get the latest styling advice and pictures of the newest must-haves, this is where they usually announce discounts. Most of these you can avail either online or through their physical stores. Several brands including Kate Spade, Anthropologie and Rebecca Minkoff, have been noted to advertise flash sales to their followers.
You should also subscribe to newsletters and emails alerts. When some deals are not declared through social media accounts, you can get notified of steals through email. Several websites such as CamelCamelCmael, PriceBlink and Price Pinkx let you see the lowest price on an item. A lot of retailers will offer you a discount when you sign up for their newsletters.
Leave Items in Your Cart
When you log in to your account, place your desired items in your cart and just let them sit there for some time. Retailers will want to close the deal, so they will try ways to lure you into buying those items. You need to have an account with the retailer’s site and be logged in when you leave the item in your cart. Do not, however, assume that this does not work for every website. However, several online stores have been shown to offer coupons days later to entice a buyer to complete a purchase.
Nowadays, you can shop right from the comfort of your own phone. What is even better is you get these things delivered straight to your doorstep. They trick really is to score discounts so you can make the most out of your online shopping experience. Do you have any other tips in mind about scoring great deals online? Share them with us in the comments below.