How to Save Money When Shopping Online in 2024

Getting good deals on services and products online is easier than in the real world, but you’ve got to plan and compare prices from several stores. Buyers can find better deals on platforms that offer state sales, garage sales, moving sales, and specialty stores. Spend less on your next online purchase with these money-saving tips.

1. Compare Prices Before You Buy

You know it’s almost impossible to check numerous online stores one by one to compare prices. List the products you want to buy and enter the names on different price comparison websites. Many price browser plugins and websites have user-friendly search functions that allow you to find products with ease. For example: 

• “PayPal Honey” is a top-tier price comparison browser extension. It automatically searches for coupons on over 30,000 sites and gives you the best deals.
• “PriceBlink” is a free browser add-on that searches over 4,000 merchant stores to help you find lower prices.
• “ShopMania” compares products and services from hundreds of renowned international and local online stores and offers reviews, specifications, and deals to help you buy cheaper.
• “RetailMeNot” scans and shows the best deals in different product categories and shares top deals and coupons. Its “Deal Finder” browser extension makes getting amazing deals, cash backs, and voucher codes a breeze.
• “CamelCamelCamel” scans the prices of products on Amazon, helping you find the right product for your money.  

Dozens of other price comparison websites and browser extensions target specific regions, too. Price comparison websites like “Twenga”, “PriceRunner”, “Kelkoo”, and “Shopalike” are the real deal for European clients. For clients in the USA, Asia, Brazil, and India, “Shopping.com” is your go-to price comparison website.

2. Check Price History and Set Sale Alerts

It’s so easy to assume that a product you’re eyeing is cheap because other stores offer it at a higher price. However, you will be surprised to realize it was cheaper some hours or months ago. Visit price comparison websites like “PayPal Honey” and “CamelCamelCamel” to learn more about the historical pricing data of different products.

A quick preview of a product’s pricing history gives you the power to decide whether to buy now or wait. It wouldn’t make any economic sense to buy a product at $50 if the past pricing never surpassed $40. Websites like “PayPal Honey” have a “Droplist” function that sends alerts to buyers when the price of a product drops significantly.

3. Search for Coupons  

When shopping online, coupons also come in great to help you save money. Vouchers are available everywhere online, but getting them is where the problem is. The following are easy ways to get coupons and save on your online purchases: 

• Coupon browser extensions. Coupon browser add-ons make it easier to search for coupons. After you add items to the shopping cart, the plugins automatically scan for related coupon codes. They also search for and recommend better price offers from other online stores.
• Online newsletters. Signing up for newsletters is another way to get the latest coupons and deals. Retailers share seasonal discounts and coupon codes with their email subscribers. However, they can send lots of annoying emails per day. Set up a separate email for your newsletter subscriptions and online shopping to avoid your email getting flooded.
• Search for relevant coupons. There are many reliable websites that compare coupons and showcase them. “CouponFollow”, “HotUKDeals”, “CouponCabin”, “MyDealz”, “Cuponomia”, and “The Krazy Coupon Lady” are top of the list. 

Take note of fake coupons that direct you to malware-infected websites. “The Coupon Information Center” records all blacklisted coupon codes and coupon sites.

4. Try to Get a Retroactive Discount

Often, buying and paying for a product doesn’t automatically seal the deal. Yes, you paid for your product, and it was delivered, but that does not mean you cannot raise a claim if you feel the product was overpriced. Every online store has a unique price adjustment policy, which allows several days or weeks for a client to claim their retroactive credit.

If you notice that a product’s price goes down shortly after you pay for it, you might be eligible for price adjustment benefits. Call customer service or use the online chat function to inquire about your purchased product. 

Make sure to give them detailed information about your purchase, and you will be surprised at how easy the process of reclaiming a retroactive discount could be. Do note, though, that not all online retailers offer a retroactive discount.

5. Maximize Cash Back on Every Purchase

Cash-back credit cards are a great way to get rewarded for spending on online purchases. Rewards include rotating, cash-back bonuses, or flat-rate cash backs. They have varied reward categories, fees, and welcome bonuses. Select a cash-back card that suits your financial goals, budget, and spending habits.

Flat-rate cards offer an equal percentage discount on each dollar spent regardless of the spending category. Cash-back credit bonus categories offer special cash-back rates based on the purchase type. 

You might earn more rewards on some products than others in this reward category. A rotating credit card category gives you a flat percentage on every purchase.

Know the category you spend more money on and settle for a credit card that falls under that category. Consider getting credit cash-back cards with a sign-up bonus, and don’t forget to sign up for quarterly bonus categories. 

You might get higher bonuses when using rewards to shop on e-commerce or travel websites. Never carry balances, as they might deny you fantastic cash-back rewards.

6. Plan Your Shopping List in Advance

Having a list of items you want to buy is the best way to avoid overspending on things you don’t need. Don’t just start shopping until you know what you need and budget accordingly. Don’t always buy every product you think of. 

Instead, create a list and wait until you get deals for the same. You could get some products at highly discounted rates on special shopping days like Cyber Monday, Memorial Day, Black Friday, and Presidents’ Day. 

When you have a list of items you need and monitor their prices, you can easily buy them whenever they get a discount. 

If you have some pending purchases that can’t wait until prices drop, you might need to diversify your income. You don’t necessarily need to start hustling again, as you can earn extra income with platforms such as Pawns.app. 

This website is one of the best extra-income-generating platforms on the internet, enabling you to diversify and increase your revenue in three ways. You could decide to be a survey panelist, an affiliate program marketer, or share your internet traffic for money.

7. Wait for Discounts

One of the best ways to save money shopping online is simply by waiting. Most online retailers have email marketing systems in place which will prompt you to enter your email for promo codes. Subscribe to the newsletter, get your discount code, but don’t buy just yet.

Add the items you need to your cart and wait for 2-3 days. You will likely receive what’s called an “abandoned cart sequence”, where the retailer sends you emails asking to complete your purchase. The last email may include an additional, or larger, discount that you can use to buy the items.

8. Unsubscribe From Emails

Once you’ve grabbed your discount, it could be useful for you to unsubscribe from any further marketing communication from the business. This way, you won’t be tempted by attractive discounts on similar items and you will end up saving money instead of spending them carelessly.

However, if that online store sells something that you buy frequently (like toiletries, for example), you might benefit more from keeping the subscription. They could send special offers for the items you usually buy, which may allow you to catch great deals that are worth more than the 10% discount.

9. Avoid “Buy Now, Pay Later” Options

“Buy Now, Pay Later”, or BNPL, may seem like a great option to break down the payments into smaller monthly fractions, but it also comes with hidden unpleasantries. If there are no hidden fees or something similar, then it’s great. However, usually if you miss a payment or take a 12-month or longer payment plan, you are likely to pay a lot more for the product than the original price.

Businesses don’t put this plan in place for your benefit. Every business is there to make money. As a result, if they offer you a payment plan, make sure to read the fine print and check the interest rates and payment conditions. Evaluate if you really need that product that much and you can’t wait until you can fully afford the price.

10. Know the Best Buying Times

If you don’t need something urgently, make sure to plan your purchases around the big sales. There are certain times of the year where stores go bonkers to clean up their inventory. 

One of the biggest sales events is Black Friday. Basically every single store out there creates huge discounts for their products and you can shop online while saving money at the same time.

However, be mindful that a lot of people are shopping online during this time of the year. Items are extremely likely to run out of stock quickly, so make up a list of things that you need and where to look for them.

11. Skip Grocery Delivery Fees

Online grocery stores surely are convenient, there’s no doubt about it. However, it’s probably more expensive, as well. You may think you’re saving money, while in reality, you’re overspending. 

The product prices on the online grocery stores could potentially be higher due to platform costs, the delivery fees could cost more than your breakfast, and the sheer amount of items on your screen could make you buy things you don’t really need.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use these platforms at all. However, if you do use them, it’s better to buy groceries in bulk to unlock free delivery, to easily filter a list of discounted products to save money, and to avoid adding unnecessary items to your cart. Make sure to check our grocery shopping tips to save money.

How to Stop Spending So Much When Shopping Online

Online stores are both a blessing and a curse. While it’s true that you can save money by leveraging discount codes and sales events, it’s easy to get lost in it and spend more than you intended in the end.

Here are several ways to can stop spending so much money online:

• Create a budget. Write up all your monthly expenses and compare them to your income. Categorize these expenses into your needs and wants. Check how you spend most of your money, and the next time you’re taken in by a potential impulse-buy, make sure your budget allows it.
• Use apps to track spending. There are a lot of apps out there that allow you to track your budget by entering the amount you spent on a specific category. Even your banking app probably has a budgeting tool implemented inside. Check your expenses and find ways where you could cut back.
• Try periods of no-shopping. Decide on a time period every month where you buy absolutely nothing, except for daily essentials such as food. It could be 3 days, a week, 2 weeks, or any other period of time. This will help you save money by reducing the amount of impulsive buys and maybe even help you resist marketing strategies in the future.

Conclusion

So there you have it. Compared to offline purchases, there are plenty more ways online to save some extra pennies and maximize your budget. There’s still plenty of research and monitoring work to do, but you can also alleviate that by using several of the strategies outlined here. 

Whether scanning the internet for coupons or getting cash-back bonuses, there’s always a way to take advantage of one or more money-saving opportunities. Using the tips mentioned here will make your wallet forever thankful.

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