As the popularity of shopping online continues to increase, the desire for buyers to make their dollar stretch grows with it.
Consumer Technology Reporter Jamey Tucker, with What the Tech, said there are several strategies to make the most of your money while online shopping, but what’s really important is being able to identify if something is a good deal.
“I think the main thing is to do your research,” Tucker said. Find out what that the cost of that item has been in the past and when it drops.”
1. Shopping at the right time of year
Shopping at the right time of year could save you money. Retailers often offer discounts on Labor Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Memorial Day. Beyond these holidays, Tucker said some retailers have unique shopping holidays of their own.
“It doesn’t just have to be Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day- all of these retailers now have their own shopping holidays,” Tucker said. “It’s important, if you’re shopping, to look at those shopping holidays from these companies because you’re going to get the best price that way.”
Doug Smith with List Perfectly has expertise in the E-commerce industry. He shared insight from the seller’s perspective about looking for good deals.
“Amazon has their prime days, and a lot of the marketplaces will also do something to directly compete with Prime Day,” Smith said. “Whether it’s their own thing or they’ll offer coupon deals or special promos that they’ll send out.”
He said if buyers think from the seller’s perspective, they can plan ahead for the best deals.
“Back to School is always big. Summer stuff is always big. You want to look ahead, especially from the seller’s perspective,” Smith said. “Think ahead of time. Look for swimsuits a bit ahead of time… things like that.”
2. Comparing and matching prices
Shoppers can also save money by comparing and matching prices.
“If you take an Amazon ad into Target, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Walmart… if you take that Amazon ad into one of those stores, they very well could match that price,” Tucker said.
Tucker said all stores have different price matching policies, but it’s definitely worth a shot. He says he has done this himself using his amazon app.
“I took that app into a Target store, showed them the price and saved, I think it was, something like $7 on a pair of headphones,” Tucker said.
3. Leaving items in your cart
Another strategy to save money when online shopping is leaving items in your cart.
“If you leave it in there long enough, you very well could get an email from that company saying, ‘all right, you’ve got six things in your shopping cart. Tell you what, we’re going to throw in free shipping,'” Tucker said.
Tucker said it’s more likely this would happen if the transaction is direct through a specific company, rather than mega retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, etc..
“They’re getting that money directly through their website, so they are able to make a little bit of an offer, make a little bit of a deal, because they’re not sharing that revenue,” Tucker said.
Smith also gave insight about the “cart abandonment” strategy. He said sellers try to figure out why people put items in their cart and not buy them.
“Definitely, that is a strategy. It’s very similar to a ‘watch list’ type of thing,” Smith said. “The the price could go down or an offer could come through.”
Both Smith and Tucker said to do your research in order to make the best decision when making purchases.
“Whatever you’re looking for, do the research, take the time, look at different things,” Smith said.
“If you’re looking for an outfit, or a cashmere sweater, or something like that, if you do some research you’ll find ‘this’ has been on sale before at ‘this’ price, and now it’s $20 more… so if you’re armed with that information, you know, it’s a good idea to wait,” Tucker said.
To compare and track prices, one tool you can use is Google Shopping. One site Tucker recommends to track pricing history is camelcamelcamel.com.
Source: MAKING ENDS MEET: The top 3 strategies for saving money while online shopping
