I would definitely consider myself an expert when it comes to online shopping and its very rare that a week goes by that I haven’t purchased something online. I personally prefer online shopping as opposed to shopping in person as you don’t have to lug around a load of shopping bags and you can take as much time as you like trying it on as well as with existing pieces in your wardrobe. I’ve learnt a lot of tips in my (short, but sweet) time, not only when it comes to shopping in high street stores, but also when purchasing luxury/designer pieces and finding amazing discounts from reputable retailers!
1. LOOK FOR DISCOUNT CODES
Before I make most of my purchases, I tend to search for any promotional or discount codes whether it’s free shipping or even just a percentage off my order. Why pay full price if you can pay less? If you’re a student, make sure you sign up to Uni Days and Student Beans to get discounts on high street stores such as Topshop, Adidas, and Apple etc. Also remember social media influencers. Many have codes where you can save anything from 10% to 70% off different brands whether it’s Morphe or Daniel Wellington etc.
2. ORDER MULTIPLE SIZES
In the past, there was nothing worse than ordering an item in one size and then when it finally arrived and you tried it on it doesn’t fit the way you envisioned it. Another issue is that it may not be in stock anymore – as much as I love Zara, they’re very unpredictable when it comes to items being online one minute and gone the next. To prevent this inconvenience, if you can, order the potential sizes as this will mean that you can try on the different sizes and see which one you like the best as most of the time you need to see things side by side to make an informed decision and it also means that you won’t have to worry about it going out of stock!
3. FREE DELIVERY & RETURNS
I don’t know about you, but it really puts me off shopping on websites that don’t offer free delivery and returns. When you’re shopping online, you can’t see what the item/s look like and you don’t want to end up worse off by having to pay for initial shipping, only to get the item/s, hate it and have to pay an arm and a leg to return it again – before you know it, you’ve lost £10 and ended up with nothing to show for it but a proof of postage.
4. BROWSE VARIOUS WEBSITES
This is something that I do subconsciously. Particularly if I’m looking for a specific item, for example a pair of Nike all black Presto’s. One website may have it for it’s RRP which is around £90 whereas another website may either have it on sale or have a banging discount code with free delivery and returns all for a £60. The great thing about online shopping is that you can look on multiple retailers’ websites and not spend more money than you have to… all from your bed, sofa, bath – whatever floats your boat!
5. READ REVIEWS
This is particularly important when it comes to purchasing off of small independent websites or even websites that supposedly sell discounted authentic luxury pieces. Reviews are so important because if a website has no reviews, even if it looks legit and doesn’t appear to be somewhat dormant, you’d feel more comfortable making a purchase with them if someone says that they’ve had a good experience with them and would purchase from them again.
6. ADD ITEMS TO YOUR WISHLIST
Most retailers have a time limit on how long the items in your basket are reserved for. I’m one of those people who can spend ages on various sites, going back and forth trying to find the perfect items. Therefore make use of the saved/wishlist as it means you can just save your items rather than have them leave your basket one by one, unbeknownst to you. I personally really like the wishlist feature on websites when item/s are no longer in stock because every now and again, you can just have a look in your wishlist and see if it’s back in stock in your size.
7. USE PAYPAL
PayPal may as well be my best friend. I like to use it wherever possible when making purchases online. The thing about PayPal that attracts most online shoppers is the security that it brings – the seller never sees your credit card details or account numbers which makes it more difficult for hackers. Also if there’s an issue for example you haven’t received an item and the seller isn’t responding, PayPal reimburse you. I personally like PayPal because if you decide to return something, as soon as the seller processes the return, it’s in your PayPal account, as opposed to having to wait 3-5 days if you paid with your card directly.
How do you feel about online shopping?
