Online shopping is starting to dominate the market as we all do it more and more. In fact, in late 2020, e-commerce accounted for over 35% of all sales worldwide. Online shopping shot up a massive 44% over the year – for obvious reasons. However, pandemic or not, online stores are here to stay. You may be more accustomed to walking around a city centre or up and down a high street looking for the best deals. How do you transfer that over to shopping online? There are, in fact, plenty of tools, tricks and tips available to assist you in your quest for bargains online, and this comprehensive guide will help you save money. Read on for our top tips and tricks to save money when shopping online.

Discount Finders

Everyone loves a bit of discount. Instead of walking the high street looking for the best deal and taking notes on where things have sales on, let someone else do the work for you. Online discount finding services, like DontPayFull, put all the effort in on your behalf. They gather all the best discount codes, sales, and offers into one place so you can simply log in and access the best deals. All their coupons are tested and confirmed as live, so you can add them to your basket when paying knowing exactly how much you are going to save in advance. The best part? It’s free! So, without spending a single penny extra, you can gain access to all the best online retailers’ discount coupons and start saving anything from 5-95% off your online purchases immediately. As an added bonus, sites like this often have blogs and email lists where they send you their own top tips on shopping techniques and money saving strategies.

Browser Plug-Ins

For those shopping on a laptop or desktop computer, there is another option for seeking discount codes while shopping. Many browsers, like Chrome or Edge, support browser plug-ins. These can range from spell checkers to news tickers and can be extremely useful little tools. But of course, we’re here to discuss money saving. So, why not try installing a discount seeking plug-in. These little bots work while you shop, searching for discount codes on your behalf while you browse sites. Say you log in to Amazon, the plug-in will search for current Amazon discount codes and try to add them to your basket for you. This is a wonderful tool, with the only drawback being you don’t necessarily know in advance whether it will be able to find discount codes for your favourite sites. But, it’s definitely a great tool to have in your arsenal.

Shop At The Right Time

Did you know that in many cases, prices actually fluctuate throughout the week? Research has shown that often companies raise prices slightly over the weekend when they know more people are likely to have time to browse online stores. So, shopping early in the week can save you up to 15% on top products. In almost all cases in Idealo’s research, the best day to shop was a Monday, with the second best day being Tuesday. And in 90% of cases, the worst time to shop is Friday-Sunday. So, if you’re looking for a bargain or some discount on an expensive item, have a look at the prices online early in the week. You may find yourself saving big bucks.

Earn Cashback While You Spend

Another top tip regarding online money, but this one’s slightly different. Instead of discounts and sales, how about making some money back? There are a few really great sites that offer cashback on purchases made with top retailers. Visit a cashback site and sign up, then do your shopping through their platform. By clicking through from their page to the retailers, you earn cashback and they earn rewards for sending shoppers to the site. It’s a win for everyone! Make a purchase and wait for the right period of time, then your cashback will be credited either in the form of gift cards or withdrawable cash.

Go Direct / Shop Around

Wait, go direct and shop around? Aren’t those two different things? Yes! But, used in tandem they form a great way for you to compare prices online and look for great deals. Think of it just like walking into a high-street phone manufacturer’s store, then heading across the road to an outlet to compare the prices. We recommend always visiting the supplier direct first. They will often have deals, great warranties, sales, and rewards schemes that are worth considering. Take a look at what the suppliers offer direct, and even haggle with them if appropriate. Then, use a trusty search engine to see what else is available. Look for lower prices with outlet or marketplace retailers. Compare the full deal, including postage, to compare with the supplier. This can be a little time consuming, but, if you’re really looking to save a few, then we say this is a worthwhile task.

Subscribe For Offers And Sales

Finally, use the power of the mailing list to help you find deals. Almost all retailers offer a mailing list or subscription function these days. Whether you’re looking for tech, phones, kids toys, clothes, or groceries online, there are ways to get the best deals sent straight to your inbox. Retailers often hold flash sales or give out weekly discount codes, and the only way to get these – and get them first – is to sign up to their mailing list. One clever shopper told us that they set up a dedicated email account just for shopping so their main inbox didn’t get cluttered. Then, every day a quick refresh helps her jump in on the sales she’s been waiting for nice and early. It’s like queuing for black Friday queues without having to leave the house!

With these tips, you will be able to start saving – or even earning – money while you shop online. Finding the best deals have never been easier, so try a few of these techniques and see just how much you can save. Happy shopping!