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Thanks to the ease of access to the internet and improvement in mobile technology, shopping looks a lot different than it did a decade ago. Online shopping options are booming and causing many people to turn to the internet to do their shopping, whether it be groceries, clothing, electronics, or real estate.
Aside from the obvious benefit of choosing and buying things without even having to leave your home, online shopping is also a great way to save money. If you’re a frequent online shopper and are interested in saving a considerable sum in shopping, here are five ways to do just that!
Better Deals
Online e-commerce stores are more generous when it comes to offering deals, discounts, and clearance sales as they don’t have to deal with the heavy customer traffic such marketing can bring to a physical store. However, that doesn’t mean all of these deals are good all the time- certain deals offer you a better bang for your buck than others.
Keeping track of deals can be a bit difficult, thanks to the multitude of eCommerce shopping options these days. Still, it can make things easier by following your favorite eCommerce websites on social media and signing up for their email newsletters.
Comparison Shopping
To make sure you’re getting the best deal possible, compare the deal you found with similar e-commerce websites. This is probably the biggest power e-commerce has given to everyday consumers — it’s easier to do online because you can have multiple stores open on one web browser rather than having to drive around store-to-store comparing prices.
Another great way to do comparison shopping is finding blogs and shopping review sites online that give advice on how to find the best deals on certain products. Certain niche e-commerce stores can offer better deals than mainstream e-commerce stores, so checking blogs and social media groups that focus on these aspects of online shopping can be well worth your while.
Buy Now Pay Later
Installment payment plans have been around long before online shopping took over, but e-commerce has really popularized it. The basic premise of buy now pay later revolves around paying for a product over a certain period of time. If you don’t have enough money to purchase something on the spot, you pay for it over time with installments.
If you have a healthy monthly income, this might sound very appealing, but there are certain conditions as well. Usually, there’s a strict timeframe involved in the payment with a penalty that exceeds interest fees for missed payments. As a result, you can easily end up paying more than the original price.
Free Delivery
Free deliveries online have become more popular than ever in the last few years and are almost starting to become the industry norm. Online stores usually get good deals with freight companies that charge them lower prices.
Which means you will have to take the effort to walk or drive to the local grocery or fast food joint to get something and save on the gas money. Though this might seem too good to be true, most online stores make up for the delivery costs through large sales volumes. But don’t expect free deliveries when it comes to international shipping, unlike your giving bulk or wholesale orders.
Lower Prices
Since online stores don’t have to go through the hassle of maintaining a physical store or worry about overhead costs, they can offer lower prices without compromising quality. Physical stores usually tend to have a higher markup on non-branded products, which online stores can easily sidestep. You also have the benefit of getting products without the involvement of middlemen that jack up the price.
Also, online stores don’t have extensive transportation expenses like physical stores. Many items for a retail store will go to their warehouse before going to their outlets in different locations. Since online stores don’t have to transfer product to a physical store and can send it straight from the warehouse, they can offer lower prices.
Shop Smart, Shop More
Saving money online is relatively easy if you just know-how, and with a little bit of practice, you’ll know the best prices and best deals in no time. Just be prepared to do a lot of research as online shipping and e-commerce, in general, have a lot of scams.
As long as you keep your wits about you, you can buy anything from a toy to a washing machine for much less than a retail store or outlet.