Ultimate Online Shopping Hacks – How To Save Money at Any Store

Published on 01/04/2024

We love helping shoppers save big when they shop online. Now, we’re going to share with you the ultimate list of tips you should follow when shopping online so you don’t lose a single penny.

The gift voucher codes should probably be at the forefront the next time you are filling up your cart with items. You never know where you can save a little money because the discounts may sometimes come from the most unlikely sources.

Use Voucher Codes

The first and most popular way to save money is by using vouchers. Almost all online stores offer them, and most of the time, you don’t even have to go out of your way to find them. Big-name retailers often give conditional discount vouchers where they are given upon entry into the website; the only bad thing about it is that you sometimes need to spend a certain amount of money to use the coupon.

We always recommend finding voucher codes soon after you have reached the checkout page. Sometimes all it takes is a glance at some shared tips out there, and more often than not, this just might be one of the quicker ways to save some money.

Checkout Tricks

Abandon your Shopping Cart

Online stores hate it when you leave your shopping cart, and they will do everything in their power to get you to buy whatever is left in your cart. At many times, this includes shooting an exclusive discount code at you—something that you wouldn’t normally get and that forms one of the basic reasons why abandoning your cart can be very instrumental in saving money while shopping online.

How this works:

Add all the items you want to your cart and begin the checkout process. Once you get to the checkout page, close the tab, but first be sure that you have either filled in your contact information or that you are logged in, if that is required by the store.
After a while, if you’re lucky enough, by the next day, after you’ve gone back and made your purchase, there will be an email in your inbox giving you a discount on the item you were looking at.

A promotional discount code is made available to first-time customers at customer registration where such promotions do exist. It’s that simple, using an email address to log in and set a password.

Some stores do not even have an account; when they request you to subscribe to their newsletter, you just fill in your email address, and quite often your first email will come with a discount on your next purchase.

Many stores are even willing to offer you a discount if you sign up for their list, yet you always have the option to unsubscribe and avoid that inbox packed with emails.

Get Discounts with a New Identity

You may have thought of this already, but there is nothing to stop you from signing up again straight away under a different email address. Just don’t get too greedy. If they saw it was technically the same person, some stores would have you blocked.

If you have made the first account, log out and you may even need to be in incognito or private browsing opening the website of the store to use the store’s second sign-up bonus time.

Just Ask

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So if you do happen to come across an online store that does have live chat in operation, then don’t hesitate to ask about any current discount offers available at that time; it might just surprisingly work out. Sometimes, we get promo codes designed specifically for us only because we took the initiative. This little strategy will only take a few seconds of your time, it’s free, and yet it can go on to save you so much.

If a shop has a social media account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok, they most likely will have been using them to push active sales or discount information.

These profiles are good sources to check for any valid discounts on the products in-store. Such offers could appear in recent posts.

Price Comparison

Go Shop Around - Other Markets

Whenever you find some product that fits you, it does not mean that you need to buy it there and then. You will often see the very same thing on Amazon or eBay at a much lower price. Just do this for every product you want, and it will take some time and patience, but the savings will be worth it.

Also, never assume that Amazon is going to charge the best price for you. So often, one can buy things at a lesser price directly from the brand’s online store.

Use Price Alert Tools

Some useful tools can notify you of a product’s price once it drops below a specific amount. That’s quite convenient, as most of us tend to point at some product and tell ourselves “Well, I’m buying this if it’s 30% cheaper.” So, here, at this pace, these tools are going to immediately notify you of what has hit a 30% discount on the product via notification or email.

Compare Prices with Google Shopping

While this is not something with which many people would resonate right off the bat, Google Shopping still provides an interesting way to find the same product somewhere else, within stores and markets. Google Shopping compares products from thousands of stores—many you wouldn’t think of on your own.

You can see all the prices virtually instantly. You don’t have to waste time by visiting a host of other websites—all there in one place and nicely laid out. You just look for the store that will deliver to your location and that will charge the best price.

Use Store Price Guarantees

Very few shops advertise this, but it is something very few buyers take advantage of. It works like this: If you can prove to a retailer that you can get the same product from another retailer cheaper, then they will match that price to get you to buy from them, to sweeten the deal, often adding in an additional discount for your troubles. This way they make their sale, and you get the price cheaper, so both of you win.

Amazon Shopping Tips

Shop on the Outlet Page

An entire marketplace of overstock and discounted products, all categorized, is what is held on the Amazon outlet page. Deeply discounted items are often new but significantly priced lower. Here you will find everything from clothing, electronics, home goods, and automotive parts to almost anything you may want to buy.

This also has some items on the outlet store page that are pre-applied with a coupon. All you do is find something that you will like, click “Clip Coupon,” and then add the item to your cart as you shop. The discount by coupon will apply at checkout.

Ship Money on Shipping

Self-Pickup at Stores or Pickup Points

If you have time, why not pick up ordered items in-store, even when ordering them online? You become your delivery driver, saving on shipping costs.

Most stores also offer shipping discounts if you drive yourself to a predestinated pickup point. Not only do you save money, but very often, you also get the purchased items quicker than using home delivery.

Check Free Shipping Thresholds

Many online retailers will often offer free shipping or expedited-free shipping when one’s spending has reached a particular amount. The amount, of course, varies according to the online retailer, and other factors come into play, including location and the weight and size of the products.

It’s always best to check the Shipping Details page on the retailer’s website, however, since it would give you a good idea of how much you need to spend. Some retailers would also give conditions like “spend X amount to get free shipping,” so virtually that does your bill for you and lets you know how much more you need to spend.

Don’t Always Trust Free Shipping

Free shipping does not always sound nice; sometimes, it is not. Many times, places claiming to offer free shipping will inflate the prices of their products to recapture the money used in shipping. This way, you always end up paying the same, if not more, for something, though you feel like you are getting free shipping and saving money at the end.

If it is the shipping costs that may be a deal-breaker for one store or placed for another, the total price from both stores is on their respective check-out pages. That way, you will know if you are paying more than you should for shipping or if it is free.

Credit Card Savings Tips

Use Business Credit Cards

Some do offer their own branded credit cards. In some cases, it will be a store-only card; in other cases, it could be a regular credit card with rewards and discounts for purchases made at certain stores. Either way, if you go to particular retailers frequently, then it’s something you may want to keep in consideration.

Use Credit Card Cashback

This will have to be done through your credit card company, though some offer cashback with purchases, be it with a specific retailer online, or general.

Check Your Credit Card Offers

Some credit card companies, such as Cashback, offer discounts at some retailers. Again, this is up to your credit card company, but quite often large discounts apply only to their customers. It’s worth a check if your credit card company has such services, and if they do, take full advantage.

Use Credit Card Insurance and Guarantees

Well, not exactly frugal, but certain credit card companies also offer purchase bonuses. For instance, you get free—sometimes discounted—insurance on the electronics you purchase with your credit card. You will save quite a lot if they break down and you get them repaired. Sometimes this also translates to extended warranties on products and phone screen insurance or even travel insurance if you used your credit card to purchase flights.

Price Drop Protection on Credit Cards

This is protection more retailers have offered recently, but we’ve seen it from credit card companies too. In essence, it’s like a price guarantee, but it works much like price matching. However, you need to keep an eye on the product at the same retailer, not compare prices with other retailers.

What the credit card company does is just give you time and within that limit, be it a week, a month, or a stipulated amount of time, the money is returned to you because the price has gone down. For example, you have purchased something for $100, and in a day or two, the price of that item is now $70—the money of the price difference is given back to you. After all, it doesn’t happen that often. When it does, you won’t regret buying it a week sooner.

More Online Shopping Tips

Check for Refurbished or Used Items

Some refurbished or used items sometimes mean the item was taken out of the box and returned. Sometimes, it’s virtually brand new and could be heavily reduced in price.

To draw a fine line, not all used or refurbished products will fit into this category; hence, to find something that fits your requirement for condition, you’ll wish to search through websites like eBay, Amazon, and Google Shopping.

Sign up for the reward programs of online vendors. While you might not be able to save through usual discounts right now, you will be able to get some of the benefits, and then you can use those to save some money later on or to get exclusive discounts others won’t access.

Join the Program for Referrals

Online retailers’ referral programs work the same as any other referral program: you will get some kind of a giveback for each purchase made through your link. Some retailers provide a good assortment of discounts, others put money into a gift card for you, or whatever it is you may use. At the very least, it’s worth trying out because it doesn’t cost you anything to get started, and you already do a lot of referring people to this stuff anyway, right?

Identical items you regularly need to re-purchase, such as pet food, cleaning supplies, and personal care commodities, typically have gargantuan discounts when you subscribe. You first need to identify a retailer that supports the subscription of the product. Then, it’s often straightforward from there. Just see how many of a certain product you are purchasing each month and decide whether subscribing to the same quantity will cost less. If it is, then do go for it; there should be some noticeable difference in the long run.

If you do not have strong brand loyalty, you can, of course, look on Amazon to find “subscribe and save” merchandise — you might be shocked at some of the interesting choices available, some of which might just be perfect for you.

Visit a Cashback Site

Besides your credit card company, certain websites offer cashback services. Most of the time, it’s not a big deal, but if you visit such websites over and over again, they do add up, and you will get quite a return.

Of course, an option is to sit with one of the most popular likely Rakuten. You can sign up for both accounts and enjoy using them to buy anything online.

Look for Military, Veteran, or Student Discounts

My sixth and final tip for online shopping is to look for available military and student discounts. Most retailers have tailor-made discounts, especially for veterans or simply students. You may need some form of proof to show that you are indeed a member of one of such groups, but once you have it, you’ve got discounts which others aren’t going to get.