How to land the best online shopping deals
Online shopping continues to grow by leaps and bounds. While online retailers' share of the market has grown significantly over the last five to six years, it hasn't fully surpassed brick-and-mortar retail in total sales. Capital One Shopping reports Americans spent $5.9 trillion in stores and $1.3 trillion online in 2024. The e-commerce share of total retail sales dollars has increased at an average annual rate of 7.42 percent since 1995.
With such a large portion of consumers shopping online, consumers may be curious about how to land the best deals. There are certain tools they can use to do just that.
Sign up for mailing lists
Although few people relish the idea of hundreds of marketing emails littering their email inboxes, stores' and services' mailing lists offer customers advanced notice of upcoming sales. An email account dedicated only to retailer communications can streamline this information, enabling people to receive notifications about sales and exclusive coupon codes.
Use price-comparison websites
Search engines and price comparison websites, such as Capital One Shopping, help people easily compare prices across various retailers. Additional options include Google Shopping, Pricespy, Bizrate, PriceMole, and PriceRunner.
Install browser extensions
Browser extensions work with an internet browser to streamline the discovery of coupon codes. Extensions like PayPal Honey, Rakuten or Keepa will automatically enter coupon or cash-back codes at retailer checkout to land customers better deals than having to scour each discount individually.
Leave items in a cart
Retailers may be more inclined to send discount offers via email for customers who leave items sitting in their online shopping carts. These deals incentivize consumers to purchases items left in their carts.
Agree to text alerts
Retailers want every way possible to contact you or potentially utilize your personal marketing data. Some retailers may offer exclusive deals or coupons to customers via text message. Businesses may incentivize signing up for text communications to provide tracking information or updates on orders.
Shopping online has become a way of life. Customers can utilize various methods to find the best online deals if they do a little research and utilize an assortment of free tools at their disposal.
