The rise in online shopping has continued to increase over the last few years and us Brits now spend more online than we do in physical stores.
One of the main reasons that we opt to spend our hard earned pennies online is to get the things we want at the cheapest price possible.
However, the chances are you could get even better deals by making just a few small changes to your online shopping habits.
With this in mind we share with you our top five tips for cutting the cost of shopping online…
#1 – Compare prices
This may sound obvious but you’d be surprised just how many people buy an item from the first store they see it in rather than searching for the cheapest prices around.
But with the internet, comparing the price of items is easy.
You could use a shopping comparison site like Price Grabber or you could do it very easily yourself. Simply copy and paste the name of the item you’re looking to buy into Google, hit the search button and you’ll be presented with a list of sites that also stock the product you’re after. All you need to do is sift through the sites and find the cheapest price possible.
Pro Tip: many stores list their products on Google Shopping, so rather than looking at pages individually you can let Google do the hard work for you. Simply click the ‘Shopping’ button after you’ve searched for the item you’re after.
#2 – Use a cashback card
Cashback credit cards are a great way to earn a little extra cash on your purchases. At the minute you can earn up to 5% on your purchases if you use an American Express card.
Plus, if you use a credit card to make an online purchase the card issuer offers you additional protection as the card will cover your goods don’t turn up or are faulty.
#3 – Use cashback sites
Another way to earn cashback on the products you buy is to use a cashback site such as Quidco or Top Cashback.
These sites offer you a percentage of the purchase price simply by visiting the retailer you are making the purchase from after clicking on a link from Quidco or Top Cashback.
At the time of writing you could earn 3% cashback at Debenhams, £195 cashback for purchasing a Sky subscription and 7% returned on purchases at Zavvi.
Pro Tip: Be sure to register your credit and debit cards with the cashback sites to ensure you get cashback on purchases made in physical stores.
#4 – Look out for flash sales
Many websites now run flash sales that offer excellent discounts on products for a set period of time, say 24 hours.
These sales are a great way to pick up a bargain but you will need to make sure that you only ever buy products that you actually need.
You can find out about upcoming flash sales by following your favourite retailers on Twitter, signing up for their emails and visiting dedicated sites like Secret Sales.
#5 – Use discount codes
Before you make a purchase online always check to see if there are any discount vouchers available online. All you need to do is search Google for ‘[retailer name] discount code’ and the latest vouchers will show up.
What’s the best saving you’ve ever made on a purchase? Let us know in the comments below…
This article was written by Ashley Park Debt Solutions who specialise in debt management, you can read more money saving tips like these on their blog.