With 70.9 percent of Internet surfers shopping online for products before making in-store purchases, online shopping is the most efficient way to have a hassle-free holiday shopping season. These 10 tips will guide your e-shopping experience with ease. These tips are offered to you by coolsavings.com.
- Do your homework. Check out retailer sites, online product comparison sites and savings sites. Find out what is available before you open your wallet and you'll save money.
- Bookmark your favorite online savings sites. With two simple clicks you can easily browse for your preferred websites and bookmark them to your computer's "favorites list." When you're ready to purchase gifts, open this list and shop away. This saves you time searching for websites again and again.
- Promotional codes are an easy way to save. Your favorite retailers often extend special deals to valued customers. Find promotional codes By
- Subscribing to e-mail newsletters from your favorite retailers that notify subscribers about available sales and promotional codes that might not be available to the general public.
- Looking for a code word, a series of numbers or a combination in catalogs, direct mail and on-offer cards from your favorite stores.
- Surfing trusted savings websites where you can find a variety of offers from leading retailers and manufacturers.
- Let the savings find you. Various websites have features that simplify holiday shopping. Check items you are interested in buying and the Gift List will notify you when there are special deals on those items.
- Shop early. While many shoppers traditionally wait until after the holiday season for the biggest deals, sales may pop up before or during the holidays. In a slower economy, many retailers offer the biggest discounts earlier to boost holiday traffic.
- Be aware of where you compare. Online product comparison sites are helpful in laying out the pros and cons associated with different brands. However, some sites only compare their advertisers' products rather than all products in a category. These sites should not be taken as the end-all of product comparison, so visit several.
- Avoid shipping and return policy frustration. Many retailers offer free shipping as an incentive to buy online. Read the fine print and look for retailers with a variety of options. Some shipping deals and return policies only apply to certain items.
- Keep records of your online transactions. Always print or save your order confirmation screen, product description and contact information for the retailer. If there is continued correspondence, such as a notification of an item on back-order, keep those in the same file.
- Be bold, but smart when buying online. A few simple rules will help you be a safe shopper. Use different passwords for each site, only buy from vendors you trust, look for an icon that designates a secure site for transactions and pay with your credit card.
- Search for printable coupons. Online printable coupons offered on websites are always there, (no waiting or paying for the Sunday newspaper!) and you can easily find savings for the products you want to buy.
More and more people are using savings sites online as part of their holiday shopping.
Courtesy of NAPS
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