Online shopping is super convenient! It saves you from the hassle of driving all the way home to a grocery store or a shopping mall to get what you need. Shopping online also means no parking tickets and no compulsion to stand in long queues to pay for your items.
Do the perks end there? Not at all! With multiple stores introducing credit lines for online shopping and other features such as BNPL schemes, you don’t have to pay in full for your purchases and you can even save some dollars on the order.
Moreover, online stores are frequently coming up with membership programs, loyalty programs, and digital coupons that can get you further discounts. Wait, we are not done yet! Did you know that there are tips that can help you save with online shopping? You are about to find out!
It Helps A Lot if You Shop on the Right Days!
If you have got a favorite store, set up online alerts that can help you keep a check on upcoming sales and discounts. The biggest perk of online shopping is that you can just use your smartphone device to order anytime.
It’s okay if you are busy on the weekend and a Boxing Day sale 2022 comes up. You just have to visit the store’s website and place the order to avail of the discount.
You Can Save Some Dollars By Signing Up With Online Stores
Spam emails can be quite annoying, we agree! However, you can get 10% to 15% off the purchase if you put your email ID to sign up for the particular store. What will happen is that you may get reminders and follow-up emails from the store but since you are signed up as a member, it will give you a discount on almost all purchases.
This can help you save a lot of cash in the long run. Moreover, you can schedule the purchases smartly to align them with further discounts that the store may introduce from time to time. Emails can help you in doing so as you will always be kept up to date on what’s coming.
There’s a hack! If you think spam mail can mess with your official email account and cause trouble with work emails that you deal with every day, set up a different email ID to keep the personal one from flooding with promo emails.
If you are new to this and don’t know which stores offer loyalty discount programs to buyers with membership, here are a few suggestions.
- Sephora offers free beauty products to members on their birthdays.
- Madewell allows for free shipping and returns for those who have signed up with loyalty programs. There is no minimum purchase requirement for this offer.
- Ulta also promises free beauty products to members on their birthdays and also gives early access to their annual sales.
Customer Service Chatbots Can Get You Good Price Adjustments
I first came across this when I had to get in touch with one of the online stores that offer payments in installments to inquire about how the process works. I was surprised to find out that the chatbot helped not just with what I wanted to find out but also with just about everything!
You can use the customer service chatbots to extend the date for a coupon, avail of exclusive discounts, score price-match policy, etc.
Moreover, chatbots are quicker than in-person customer assistance. They are almost always available. Who does not want to skip the 15-minute wait with music that calling a rep will get you?
Let’s talk a bit about how price adjustments with online chatbots work. One thing is for sure: the majority of online retailers now offer this service. However, they vary in the window of time during which an adjustment claim is possible. Typically, you have at least 7 days to make the claim.
You Should Look For Online Stores That Have Cash Back Programs
If you are a credit cardholder, online shopping would carry some extra benefits! This is because the majority of credit cards have reward programs of one sort or another. For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and Discover offers generous cash back on purchases made through them. SoFi has a resource page as well that details the various benefits of using a credit card.
Some of the credit card reward or cash-back programs are also applicable on travel purchases such as booking flights, hotels, dining out, etc. You can earn a good amount of cashback and then trade it in for statement credit if you like.
Online retailers like Catch also offer cashback deals every now and then, so it’s best to keep an eye out for these limited-time offers.
Influencers and Bloggers Can Get You Discounts on Online Stores Too!
The majority of brands now run their marketing campaigns through social media. Influencers and bloggers play a vital role in this. Certain brands like Casper and Glossier often announce their product launches through Instagram and FaceBook channels in affiliation with different influencers.
Consequently, the participating bloggers are given referral codes that come with a discount on the latest brands that they have partnered with. Buyers can use the referral code to get off on selected items.
You should, therefore, follow your favorite brands and influencers for quick updates. Don’t hesitate to even slide in their DMs and request upcoming promo codes!
Wrap Up!
The world has embraced the trend of online shopping knowing it carried additional benefits that conservative means of shopping could never provide. However, online retailers and stores did not just stop there. The efforts are still ongoing as they strive to provide better and better offers to ensure that online buyers never lose interest.
Some of the ways that we have discussed above are just a glimpse of what the online shopping options have in stock for you. With improvements like Artificial intelligence to provide a personalized shopping experience, free shipping offers, easy returns, etc, it is expected that this trend will simply pick up pace in the future.
