Finding the Best Online Deals When You Can't Shop in Stores

By Kaitlin Hurtado on April 21, 2020

The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has many changing their day-to-day lives, from suddenly working and learning remote to not being able to interact with the world the way we are used to. One of those many interactions we are suddenly changing is the way we go out and shop. No longer are we leaving the house just to browse our favorite shops for no reason and not because we need any one thing in particular — we are now supposed to go out if we need to restock on essentials — groceries, household supplies — to protect ourselves. So what about our favorite small businesses we love to shop, or the stores we would frequent to fulfill our needs or hobbies? Online shopping has become a new norm for many, but you may be finding it harder to find online deals than you are used to with stores.

Whether you are looking to stock up on essentials, wanting to treat yourself, or just looking for something to pass the time — online deals are aplenty if you know how to look for them. Check out this guide on how you can score online deals from the comfort of your own home.

online deals

Photo: Pexels

Shop Purposefully; Don’t Impulse Buy

When it comes to online shopping, it is all too easy to find things that look so great at the time and add them to your cart without a second thought. However, unlike shopping in a store, shopping online does have its own setbacks that you need to keep in mind with impulse buying. Those small mugs that are less than $20? They may look like a steal but by the time you add the full set to your cart and have to pay for steep shipping & handling fees, you may be going over budget.

When you get to a store in real life, you are most likely going with a purpose — you get dressed, have to drive there and go into the store and look for your items. With online shopping, all you need to do is go to your browser on your phone or laptop and shop the day away. Try to approach online shopping with a purpose, just as you would with an in-store visit. Think about why you are shopping when opening up a site to shop on. Is it something you absolutely need? Or is it something you can wait a bit and think about if you really need it?

You aren’t the only one online shopping now, so do expect delays when online shopping. What sounds like a great buy now may not be the same in a week when the item arrives and you have no idea what to do with it. Another plus of avoiding impulse buying is being able to access deals you never knew were possible. Browse a site that you usually would while logged into your account with the site, add things you want to keep your eye on to your shopping cart. Instead of proceeding with checkout, close your browser and carry on with your day. Not all stores do it, but if you’re lucky, the store will email you notifying you that the item is either on sale now or offer you an “exclusive” discount on the item in your cart or your next purchase. Waiting to buy an item never felt so good.

Download Browser Extensions 

online deals

When online shopping, you have the advantage of downloaded browser extensions that are designed specifically to help you save money with online deals. Different extensions have different purposes and when combined, can lead you to the very best of the online deals out there. Here are a few extensions to help you get started on your search for online deals.

Shoptagr: Shoptagr will notify you the instant that there’s a better price on items on your wishlist. When you’re browsing your favorite online sites for something to buy, do you ever come close to adding it to your cart but just can’t justify the price tag it has? You’re definitely not the online one, and Shoptagr is here to help.

With Shoptagr, save items you want to keep your eye on and get notified when it’s back in stock or on sale. You can also save items into a massive wishlist, making it easy to go back and look at items you’ve been wanting. Shoptagr will also apply the best coupon code that can find to your checkout. Shoptagr will also help you out when it comes to impulse-buying. You can still spend hours browsing different online stores, but you can make up your mind later on when it comes to what you really want to buy at the price you actually want to pay. They can also compile all your price changes in one easy to-read email where you can see just how much your prices dropped.

Honey: Sick of sitting at checkout and staring down the little widget for “Coupon Code” hoping it will magically fill itself up? Well, Honey is here to do just that. With over 17 million internet shoppers, Honey is the go-to extension for those searching for coupon codes. It will automatically apply every discount possible to your cart to maximize your savings — yes, they will stack codes when possible. Honey gives you online deals on all the big stores you may be thinking of already — Target, Sephora, Best Buy, Forever 21. Thinking of making an order for pizza delivery? They can get you discounts on Pizza Hut, too.

Similar to Shoptagr, Honey also has a “Droplist” which allows you to save something you like when it’s not at the price you want to buy it on. It will notify you when the price drops so that you can score a better deal. For members, they save an average of $126 every year and get an average discount of 17.9% — all with a few clicks of their mouse.

Amazon Assistant for Chrome: Amazon Assistant helps you find Amazon products and compare prices across the internet. You can access Amazon’s 30-day price tracker, which allows you to see how the price has changed over time. When viewing a specific item, look for the low price badge to see if you are getting the best deal possible. For those of you who rely on Amazon to fulfill most of your online shopping, this extension is perfect for you.

Amazon Assistant will also show you new deals every day in one place.

Rakuten (Previously known as Ebates): If you’re spending so much money online shopping anyway, you might as well be getting money back on your purchases. Similar to how you may be getting cash back with your credit card, Rakuten is an extension that allows you to get up to 40% cash back at over 2,500 stores. Sound too good to be true? It is not. Stores pay Rakuten commission for sending shoppers their way and Rakuten sends you part of the commission via cashback.

Browse the hundreds of stores Rakuten works with on their site, you can find Double Cash Back Stores and Hot Deals galore. At the end of every quarter, you will receive your cashback in a “Big Fat Check” or a PayPal payment. Online shopping has never felt so good when you get paid to do it! Just by creating an account and making your first purchase, you can get $10 added to your balance for free.

The best part of all these extensions? They’re completely free to download so they don’t hurt to just try out to see if they work for you. They are just as easy to remove from Chrome, so don’t be afraid to pick and choose what works best for you when it comes to online deal hunting.

Follow Businesses on Social Media 

While these extensions are great at doing a bulk of the work when it comes to online shopping, they may not help so much when it comes to your purchases from small businesses. Small businesses are being hit hard now, as many of them are not considered essential businesses and have been ordered to close their doors for the time being. Why not choose them to fulfill your online shopping needs.

They may not be carrying the essentials you buy elsewhere, but can supply the birthday presents you want to ship to friends and family you can’t celebrate with in person, or the thing you want to treat yourself with to get your spirits of. Stationery to up your arts & crafts game, books to read or even some art to decorate the room you are spending more time than ever in. Small businesses may be a bit harder to find online deals with, but a great idea is to follow them on their social media (usually Instagram and Facebook) to see if they are doing any online deals.

If they are local, some small businesses are offering curbside, no-contact pickup for shoppers who place online orders. Why not cut the cost and time of shipping and handling on your orders? Or, many businesses are offering free shipping or heavily discounted shipping costs because online orders are the only way to buy from them at the moment. Many small businesses are relying on social media to promote their businesses, offering flash sales or exclusive deals for those following them on social media. Give them a follow to keep up with ant online deals they may be offering.

Sign Up For Newsletters 

Similar to the idea of following businesses on social media to keep an eye on online deals, signing up for newsletters from different stores can keep you just as updated. Not all stores have this option, but when they do, it may be worth it if you are considering making a purchase from them in the near future.

These newsletters can keep you updated on new products, upcoming sales, and deals and possibly deals exclusively for you for being a new member or your upcoming birthday.

online deals

Photo: Pexels

Download Shopping Apps and/or Make Store Accounts

Some stores offer their own mobile app to make online shopping easier for their customers. Many also have their own rewards system for customers to keep them shopping. While you may think this will just encourage you to keep forking over money on things you really do not need, think twice.

Many stores will offer deals for new account holders. So, simply sign up for an account, register it and shop as you usually would. These “welcome” deals usually offer around a 20% discount or money off on your total. If you were already planning on going through with a purchase, you may as well sign up for a free account to save money. You can always unsubscribe from pesky emails when you no longer plan to shop with the store. Similar to discounts offered when you open up an account with a store, you can also access exclusive deals if you download their apps and shop from there. Stores may also you discounts when you download their app, so why not take advantage of that?

Hunting for online deals right now can be relatively easy if you know what to do, so with these tips in mind, you can be saving money with just a few clicks. Stay safe and healthy, and enjoy your new online shopping habits!

For more tips on money and shopping, check out these helpful articles:

4 Perks of Shopping Online for Students by Ashley Paskill: While this article is geared toward college students, it points out four perks that just about anyone can access with online shopping.

Saving Money While Shopping: Your Go-To Guide by Amanda Cohen: This article gives you essential tips on shopping and saving money both online and off-line. Need even more extensions and apps to use than this article mentioned? This article has you covered.

The Best Student Shopping Deals by Madison White: This article highlights a variety of great student shopping deals. From music and streaming sites to fashion, you can’t go wrong when you find these hot deals detailed in this article.

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