6 Easy Hacks for Saving Money While Holiday Shopping Online
Online sales are predicted to jump at least 25 percent this year. Here, our shopping pros share the easy ways to snag deals and boost your bottom line.
Score Instant Discounts
Get right-away savings with the free browser extension Honey (joinHoney.com) that applies any applicable coupons automatically when you’re shopping online, urges savings expert Andrea Woroch.
“You can also use its ‘drop list’ feature to add an item you’re interested in, and it’ll let you know when the price drops. So if you want a specific pillow from, say, Macy’s, you’ll get an email or an alert will pop up letting you know the price just dropped—it’s that easy.”
Get Money Back
Bought an item only to see its price drop a week later? Getting a refund on the difference is easy! “I love the free Edison Mail app, which organizes your email inbox,” says Woroch.
“It tracks digital receipts for items you bought and notifies you if the price has since dropped. If you’re eligible for a price adjustment, they’ll send you a pre-filled email with details on how to painlessly request a refund.”
Snag Amazon Bargains
The mega site’s prices are notorious for fluctuating, so just plug in the name of the product you want at CamelCamelCamel.com and they’ll send you an email when the price goes down. Prime member? Due to the uptick in online orders during the pandemic, Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping is hard to fulfill, reveals expert Kyle James.
“I called Amazon to let them know my package didn’t arrive on time, and they gave me a $10 credit — it’s worth calling if you don’t get a package on time.”
Bundle Sister Sites
Consider shopping at “sister stores” such as Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, all owned by the same parent company, says expert Trae Bodge.
“An easy way to hit the $50 free-shipping threshold is to combine orders for all three and check out in one transaction,” she says. “There typically are ways to save with a family of brands —Wayfair, Joss & Main, and All Modern, for instance, price-match each other, so if you find an item you like on one of the sites, check the others to see if it’s discounted there.”
Chat Your Way to Deals
Next time you see a live chat option while online shopping, just ask if there’s a promo code you can use. “Customer service reps often have coupons,” says James.
Also smart: tweet. “I was shopping for a Dell computer, so I tweeted to let them know I was hoping to find a coupon, and they tweeted me back — I saved $150!”
Stagger Free Trials
Walmart Plus, Target Delivery with Shipt and, Amazon Prime all offer free trials that include free shipping. So if you stagger them by, say, signing up for Amazon in November, Walmart in December and Target in January, you can spread savings across the season, says Woroch.
“Just cancel the free trial right before it expires and move on to the next. Target and Walmart price-match with Amazon, so it doesn’t matter where you shop, you’re guaranteed to save.”
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.
