Millions of Americans have been ordered to “shelter in place” as more and more major cities across the country go on lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. And, with millions of Americans now spending their days at home, they’re turning towards the internet to satiate all of their shopping desires.
And, we totally get it. Whether you’re shopping online out of boredom or find that you’re in need of something important and all of your local retail shops and malls are closed, online shopping is the way to go as we all work together to flatten the curve and prevent the spread of this deadly virus.
But, when online shopping during a pandemic, you’ll want to ensure you’re getting the best price every time. It’s no secret that this is going to have serious economic effects on nearly every country in the world. So, it’s best to spend wisely while still treating yourself to something nice. Not sure how? Here are our top five online shopping tips for ultimate savings.
1. Price Check Before Purchasing
One of the easiest ways to save money while shopping online is to price match against competitors. This means that if you find something you like while shopping online at Neiman Marcus, for example, make sure that it’s not cheaper elsewhere. And, while this is smart, it’s also incredibly time-consuming.
So, it’s best to install price matching apps on your phone or a price matching extension on your web browser that will help you compare prices across various different retailers. ShopSavvy is a great app you can download on your phone that will help you compare prices.
And, you can find numerous apps that will monitor prices online for you when you purchase something and automatically process a refund for you if they find it cheaper elsewhere within the price adjustment policy period.
2. Look For & Apply Coupons at Checkout
The easiest way to save money online? Use coupons! And, thankfully, in today’s digital world, you don’t even have to sift through the newspaper to find coupons. They exist online and they’re easy to find. First, try simply checking out the retailer’s website. Stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom often have coupons or discounts on their website.
If you still can’t find a good deal, then install a helpful extension on your web browser to help you find coupons for online shopping. Honey is a Google Chrome extension that will automatically find and apply coupon codes to your checkout order when shopping online. It will also do cool things such as discover the best time to buy by providing you with price history charts and alerts.
3. Know When to Shop
Aside from looking for discounts, it’ll help to know when is the best time to shop online. While online retailers don’t necessarily change prices like airlines might, you’ll find that there certainly are times that you’ll find better prices and deals than others. This refers to specific times of the year and certain days of the week.
For example, exercise and workout equipment tends to go on sale in January when people are looking to keep their New Year’s resolutions. And, winter clothing tends to go on sale in the springtime. However, it’s generally thought that Thursdays are a great time to shop for clothes online. This is because retailers might start slashing prices to make room for weekend promotions and products.
4. Keep Items in Your Shopping Cart
If you can resist the urge, don’t purchase things online right away! It’s hard, yes. But, oftentimes, if you abandon your cart but keep all of the items in there, a retailer will send you a discount code or some sort of promotion via email to entice you to complete your order. This is one of the easiest ways to outsmart online retailers.
This also goes for adding items to your wishlist on sites such as Amazon. It’s a great idea to add anything you want now or think you might want in the future to your wishlist. Anything. Amazon will send you an email, usually, when the price changes or if they’re offering a discount on the product.
5. Scan Your Digital Receipts
You might have heard of ways to earn extra cash by scanning your shopping receipts. And, while this largely applies to in-store purchases, you can also earn cash back by “scanning” your digital receipts as well (no actual scanning is required). Ibotta is a great example of a platform where you can earn up to 10% cash back on your online purchases.
To earn these kinds of rewards, at least through Ibotta, you’ll have to create an account and then locate the online retailer in the app. Look through their offers and locate the offer you want. There should be an option to shop, which will take you to the retailer’s specific offer for that product.
And, of course, since you already have an account, once stores open back up, you can combine this type of online shopping savings tip with their in-store physical receipt scanning deals.
Save More Online With Cheese
Here at Cheese, we offer you savings without having to do literally anything. Yes, we said it. To save more cheese with Cheese, you don’t even have to do any receipt scanning or price checking.
All you have to do is sign up for the debit card and begin to reap the financial benefits that our account offers you. With cashback in savings, you’ll be able to save more money to fuel your online shopping addiction. And, as the country moves more towards a total lockdown, this could be more beneficial to you than you think. With every swipe, you’re eligible to earn up to 10% cash back at our partner stores.
However, the cash back savings don’t stop there. You can also receive a $5 signup bonus just for setting up your account. And, whenever you refer a friend, you’ll both get a 3% deposit bonus for 30 days. Each new user means we give back more to the causes that need it most. This means we’re able to give back to you while also giving back to the communities you’re a part of.
Get started today by downloading the Cheese Mobile Banking App for iOS or Android.
