Let’s be honest, online shopping in India is addictive yet has a vibe. One minute you are searching for a phone cover and before you even know it, your cart has brand new sneakers, sippers, clothes, makeup and what not!
But wait a minute, are you saving money on all these things you are buying or just crashing your bank in disguise? In this endless world of online shopping and tags like, “ only 1 left in stock”, “ limited edition”, it is natural to overspend, without realizing.
Despite doing this, the good news is, you don’t have to stop shopping, you just have to shop smarter. This blog is a complete guide for you to shop on big brands and save big bucks in online shopping.
Alright then, just grab your coffee and dive right into reading this blog.
Hacks to save money in online shopping
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Compare prices like a pro
As per my personal experience, don’t shop from the first site you land on. Why? Because the air fryer you are purchasing must be cheaper somewhere else, so pause, before hitting the buy now option.
There are many different tools you can use to compare the prices of the products across different sites, these tools compare the amount and give you the best deals possible. Some of them are:
- PriceDekho
- BuyHatke
- MySmart price
- Smartprix
Pro tip: always check the original price first, before trusting on the label which states- “you saved 300, claim”. They might not always be true and the amount you spend will be the same or even more than your actual pay; ultimately saving you nothing.
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Stack the coupons
Coupons will help you a lot in saving money, like me, avail them, there is always a working coupon floating around. And if there is not, don’t worry take help from the websites providing coupon discounts, like Couponswipes.
Websites like Couponswipes.com offers you coupon discounts on the branded products on any website you are buying from, just visit the couponswipes website, copy the latest coupon codes and use them at the time of checkout. And you will see how much you just saved, after emptying your cart.
Also the combo hack I use for triple saving is- Use a coupon + cashback site + card offer = triple savings. Use this hack once and see your savings get tripled.
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Do not ignore bank or wallet offers
Look out for the bank or card offers which are flashed at the end of almost every season sale. You will often see things like, “ get extra 10% discount on the hdfc bank card”
Also you can use credit/ debit cards from SBI, HDFC, KOTAK etc for the exclusive discounts on your shopping. Similarly, UPI payments from Gpay, paytm offers vouchers and cashbacks. All these can be used as a hack to save a lot on online shopping.
You can manage your bigger purchases more smartly, without spending a lot on the orders by following and using these options for further shopping.
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Time your purchase around sales.
Shopping when the sale is live is not only fun, but financially wise and a smart choice. You will find a lot of season sales on different platforms, go shop during this time and see the difference. Some of the well known sales are:
- Amazon great Indian festival
- Flipkart big billion days
- Myntra end of season sale
- Nykaa pink friday sale or nykaa hot summer sale
All these sales offer massive price drops, so if you are thinking to continue your shopping online do it wisely, go for their buy one get one offers and cashback offers everywhere. Grab them.
Pro tip: load your cart with the products you want to purchase, and when the sale is live, hit the buy now option.
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Use app-only deals.
Many e-commerce apps have exclusive mobile-only discounts, majorly during flash sales. Keep an eye on them and avail.
You can compare the difference between ordering through an app and through sites, as you will get 50-200 rupees off just by ordering through a mobile app. Some of the discounts you can get from the app are:
- First-order deals
- App only combo packs.
Therefore if you are shopping from a desktop or laptop always recheck the app version before checking out.
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Abandon your cart
This one might sound a little cheeky, but believe me it works.
You too have a habit of just putting everything in the cart, and then not checking out? Well, I have changed that habit, you do it too and abandon your cart, because of that some sites will send the notifications like:
- Still thinking about it
- A discount code to encourage you
- Buy now and get free shipping offers.
These are the tricks that work well with electronic or fashion products.
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Avoid shipping charges
Why pay 30-40 rupees on delivery when you can save them? Here’s how:
- Combine multiple orders to hit the free shipping option.
- You can also use the store pickup option, wherever possible
- Sign up for the prime options to get lifetime free delivery, like amazon prime and flipkart plus.
Pro tip: after following all the steps for getting free delivery, they can sneak in at the time of checkout. Keep an eye on them.
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Make your wishlist
This is my personal favourite. Sometimes we want to add the products in the cart and wait. Instead, make your wishlist and let the right time come for you to checkout.
Also you can use price trackers like Keepa or Honey to monitor the changes, also you can wait for sale or price drop.
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Loyalty programmes
If you regularly shop from the same platform, they offer you to become their gold member, and availing this can help you save a lot on your orders, like:
- Amazon prime will offer you free delivery, early access to deals, prime video and many more
- flipkart plus will offer you bonus coins, which you can redeem on your future orders,and can get the exclusive discounts.
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Do not skip referral programmes.
Many sites and apps offer referral bonuses, you can get exclusive coupon discounts on every signup, or order through your referral link. You can use this on the apps like:
- Zomato
- Swiggy
- Meesho
- Amazon business
- Cashback and coupons apps
Conclusion
Now at the end of this blog, it is necessary to understand that online shopping is not about spending less, but it is about spending smart and with it so many smart opportunities to save money. All you have to do is to have the right approach which leads you to the correct path of saving more.
Just by following the steps I have mentioned above you can save hundreds to thousands of rupees every month.
Therefore, when the next time your cart is full, ask yourself “ did i shop smart? And if you followed these steps, the answer to this question would be a big yes.