How to Save Money Shopping Online

 Admittedly, saving money is a bit of a sport for me. I have a hard time buying anything when it isn’t on sale or doesn’t have coupons stacked upon coupons with free shipping, of course. Sometimes this can be distracting to the purchasing process; however, the savings do add up.

Here are some of my favorite tips for purchasing items and saving money online.  

Watch Out for Dynamic Pricing, Price Discrimination, and Price Steering

Did you know that some people pay more than others when shopping online? Are you purchasing an item using a desktop browser or mobile phone? What kind of phone do you have? Did you access the online retailer through a deal website or a luxury website? Is your location data available (what is your zip code?)

Dynamic pricing is a term that describes how companies change the prices of products based on different inputs estimating customer demand (using both web data, such as time of day, location, page views, cart abandonment, previous consumer behavior, etc. and sales data, such as inventory, competitors’ pricing, etc.)

Where does this information come from? With modern web browsers, companies can collect all kinds of information about you and how you browse and shop online by using tracking cookies and other tools.

A cookie is a small piece of data sent from a website that is stored on your web browser while you are browsing.

Not all cookies are bad. Authentication cookies are commonly used to know whether a person is logged into an account, which is necessary for security and communicating sensitive information. Cookies can also be convenient, saving items in our shopping cart and helping us remember login information. However, tracking cookies, especially third-party tracking cookies can be questionably more intrusive, compiling long-term records of our browsing histories. Cookies can also be read by third-parties, like Wi-Fi hotspot providers, which is a good reason to put your browser in private mode whenever you are in public places.

What can we do to protect against dynamic pricing and price steering?

• Clear your browsing data and cookies before making purchases. Believe it, or not, previous purchases of luxury items can drive up the price points and offerings of future purchases. Offerings also might be priced higher for users with a Mac IP address (WSJ article on how Orbitz discovered that Mac users spend up to 30% more on hotels and are steered to pricier options.)
• Log out of your accounts while shopping and price comparing (including Gmail, Amazon Prime, Facebook, individual store logins, etc.).
• Switch to private or incognito mode.
• Shop with online retailers in the evenings and during lower demand hours. Online prices are likely to be higher Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when customers shop during weekday office hours.
• Shop and price compare using three different methods: a desktop browser, private/incognito mode, and on a mobile device.

Compare Prices

Search for your product on Google (the Shopping tab) and compare prices, or try a browser add-on application, such as PriceBlink. Use your phone to compare prices when in store vs. online. Show the clerk any pricing discrepancy that is lower online and request the same discount in store.

Always Use a Promo Code or Coupon

Online Promo Codes: Don’t purchase anything online without searching for a promo code first. Deal and coupon websites like SlickDeals.net and RetailMeNot.com are favorites for coupon codes. Entering an online retailer through a coupon website link also signals that you are looking for a deal.

Search for online/mobile coupons while in-store: Always search for a coupon online before you check out at the store. You can also use competitor’s coupons at many stores. For example, most Lowe’s will accept Home Depot 10% off coupons and vice versa (Lowes and Home Depot are two Top 10 retailers in the U.S, and purchases made here can be big ones.)

Use Credit Card Shopping Malls and Match Credit Card Rewards to Purchases

Credit Card Shopping Malls: As a former military member, I hardly purchase anything without going through the Navy Federal Credit Union or USAA special member malls for savings. These offer multiples of points for purchases and other percent-off discounts.

Think about which credit card is optimized for certain purchases. In other words, some of your credit cards may offer more points or rewards for certain purchases, such as restaurants and travel, Amazon.com/Whole Foods purchases, gas purchases, Costco purchases, using airline cards to cover baggage fees, etc. This requires some thought when paying for things in store (Which card do I use?), however you can easily register the proper credit card with online retailers.

Here are a few examples:

• Chase Sapphire card offers 2X points on travel and dining.
• Amazon Rewards Visa offers card members with an eligible Prime membership 5% back at Whole Foods Market simply by using the card for purchases. This is in addition to 10% off sale items for scanning your Prime ID.
• Costco Anywhere Visa^® Card by Citi offers 4% on gas up to $7000, including Costco gas and 2% cash back on all Costco and Costco.com purchases (annual fee is waived with Costco membership.)
• Capital One Venture Rewards with $0 annual fee offers 10X on hotels.com
• Discover It Cash Back earns 5% cash back at different places each quarter like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com, and more.
• Certain airline cards will cover baggage expenses with use. For example, you can use a Delta Skymiles Credit Card and your first bag is free (for up to 8 additional passengers on the reservation).

Use Cash Back Services, such as Ebates, Honey, and Dosh

These services exist to directly market to consumers. Ebates, Honey, and Dosh offer deals at major retailers, and if you use the application to make purchases, the service takes a cut and you get cash back.

• Ebates: Find coupons and earn cash back at over 2500 stores when you shop at Ebates (now owned by Rakuten.) Stores pay Ebates a commission for sending you their way, and Ebates shares the commission with you as cash back.
• Honey: Honey is a free browser extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout for over 30,000 shopping sites. It also instantly finds better prices on Amazon (since they change daily) and offers Honey Gold at many stores for American, Canadian, and UK members. 
• Dosh: We use Dosh, an app-powered service, that links up our credit card “securely” and offers cash back with each purchase automatically (not just from online retailers but brick and mortar stores, as well). This means that every time we shop at Sam’s Club or get gas at a Chevron station, we get a notice of a Dosh percentage cash back. Essentially, we are selling our consumer information to Dosh and who knows what else, but at least we are getting back some of the profits.

Leave Items in Your Online Cart

Sometimes coming back to an item a second or third time during a single browsing session will signal that you are willing to pay more. However, leaving items in your cart for a noticeable amount of time may signal that you simply need a nudge to purchase. Thus, some retailers will issue price drop alerts, or offer coupons to purchase items remaining in your cart.

Save Direct Mail Coupons (next to your computer) and Set up Alerts for Sales

Have one inbox for coupons that come via snail mail. Place them next to your computer so that you will use them when shopping online. Take a photo of direct mail coupon codes with your phone for on-the-go use.

Set up calendar alerts for major sales at stores you love (holiday weekends, anniversary sales, etc.) For example:

• Nordstrom: The 2019 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale will be from July 19 through August 4, 2019.
• REI: Save up to 30% during the Biggest Sale of the Year, May 17–27, 2019. Become a member and get 10% back on most purchases. Register your child for a membership and receive additional coupons.
• Amazon: Amazon Prime subscribers will start seeing Prime Day deals at 12:00am PST on Monday, July 15th, and they will last through 11:59pm PST on Tuesday, July 16th, 2019.
• Land’s End: Three-day holiday weekends are generally good sale times at Land’s End.

Download the App for the Stores You Shop at the Most

Target Cartwheel app: Download the app to your phone, and put coupons for the items you’ll be buying on your shopping list. When you checkout, just present the bar code the app gives you, and the discounts for the items on your list will be applied.

Walmart’s App: Buy groceries through the app and pick them up at the store for free. Save household favorites to the app, such as diapers or toilet paper, for quick re-orders and pickup. Save time and skip the line by adding pharmacy access to your app account for easy refills and Mobile Express pickup.

Whole Foods Market app: Scan your Prime Member QR code each trip to receive an extra 10% off on sale items.

Stack Offers

Go to Groupon and find a restaurant you have wanted to try. Perhaps use Ebates or Dosh to get cash back. Search for other special offers on the restaurant website for meal options. Use a credit card that offers 2-3X dining points for the meal.

Okay, this stacking business is getting obnoxious, but enjoy the savings!