Although most deals are just a click away, follow these smart online shopping tips and hacks to save money.
Are you ready to grab the best deals during this festival season? With many online sites in the e-commerce business, consumers are now happy to make the most out of them. Here are some important tips that will help you to make smart shopping.
Even though online shopping is at its nascent stage in India, it is not surprising that brick and mortar retail stores are sweating.
Due to the recent Amazon Prime Day and Flipkart’s Big Billion Day sale, Government had received many complaints against e-commerce retail policy saying that their business is being affected by such discount sales.
Whatever may be the outcome, it is to remember that consumer is the king and online shopping is here to stay.
Big Shift in Consumer Behavior:
Shopping from the comfort of home is gaining momentum and of course, it has its own pros and cons. Frankly speaking, it would wipe out my endless wait at the billing counter.
With more and more portals joining the discount war, consumers are killing their time in online window shopping. It clearly shows a big shift in consumer behaviour.
In traditional shopping, the consumer visits the retail store when there is a need for a certain thing. However, in online shopping, it is quite different. Public purchase when they see a huge discount on the product. It is no more a need-driven exercise.
Top 5 Smart Online Shopping Tips To Save More Money:
Here are some smart shopping tips that will help turn your online shopping to a pleasure purchase:
1. Subside the Excitement in You:
Don’t get tempted with the lucrative offers on the portals. It is really eye candy to see 50-70% discounts but still doesn’t mind. Click on buy button only when you need it otherwise you may end up developing a storeroom.
2. Compare Prices:
If you really made up your mind to purchase then be a smart shopper. While purchasing things physically, we often visit two or more stores to find a better deal.
The similar approach should be followed while making an online purchase. There are many famous online portals (Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, Infibeam, Jabong, Myntra, Snapdeal etc) where you can cross-check prices.
Recently, I’ve found websites such as MySmartPrice, Junglee and Google Shopping that itself shows comparative prices on multiple portals. There may be many other too in line, but it is always advisable to verify them individually.
3. Look for Online Coupons and Cashback Offers:
There are many coupons available while making an online purchase. You can check them while making a final transaction so that one can get an added discount. These days even banks are offering cashback offers.
Last week, I had observed that popular banks like American Express, Citibank and Standard Chartered offered 10% cashback and our known desi banks like SBI, Axis, ICICI, HDFC are also joining the race with 5% cashback making the purchase cheaper.
4. Avoid 9-5 Shopping:
Look for perfect timing instead of a flash sale. During discount sales (Amazon Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day, Best Buy Black Friday, Apple Black Friday, Black Friday Thanksgiving deals, Nike Factory outlet online), most of the international shopping sites get crashed due to heavy traffic.
This may lead to repeated purchase and unnecessary frustration. It is always advisable to shop in the low traffic timings such as early morning or late at night.
Generally, we get double the internet speed during these non-peak hours.
5. Opt for Cash-on-Delivery:
If you are not sure about secured internet banking then it is always better to opt Cash-on-delivery payment mode. It has two benefits.
One you will be free from hacker intruding into your account and the other you’ll make the payment only after the shipment gets delivered at your doorstep.
This gives an advantage of physically checking the product before making the payment. If you feel that product is faulty then you can return it immediately making a hassle-free purchase from the comfort of home.
