As fueled by current events brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping has never been more popular. While some individuals engage in online shopping sparingly before, online retail and shopping are new, convenient ways to make purchases offered right on your screen.
Online Shopping Tips
– The New Normalย –
Online transactions and purchases have always existed way before the pandemic occurred. However, the circumstances caused by the pandemic pushed individuals to stay inside their homes and shop for their items online.
According to a survey, 55% of online buyers have purchased orders online due to COVID-19. Most of their purchases include essential items and replenishment products such as food and drug (55%), health and beauty (45%), and disease-prevention products (30%). Global markets will continue to adapt to this setup as the pandemic remains unsolved.
Making Your Online Purchases Stress-Free
However, online shopping also has consequences, especially digital shoppers who still don’t know their way around various shopping platforms.
Thus, we have compiled these online shopping tips to make your online shopping enjoyable and less stressful, no matter which online platform you’re ordering from:
1. Take Advantage Of Discounts And Online Promosย
Incorporating discount and promotion coupons is a proven strategy in both brick-and-mortar and online businesses. The consumer buying behavior reflects more interest and engagement in businesses where customers can save more.
According to a survey, two-thirds of buyers completed an unplanned purchase mainly due to scoring a discount or coupon. Also, 80% showed enthusiasm in making a first-time purchase provided with discounts and offers.
Before checking out the items on your cart, always make a habit of searching for coupons and voucher codes in Don’tPayFull, a finder tool that helps online shoppers save more through deals and coupons.
2. Choose Shopping Platforms With A Friendly Interface
Every shopper knows how frustrating it is to encounter an online shopping website with no organization. Companies entering the eCommerce landscape should prioritize designing a simple and friendly user interface (UI) to guarantee seamless transactions.
When looking for an online store to get your needs from, you should initially assess their UI as it can significantly impact your shopping experience. Can you easily find the search bar? Are the items categorized neatly? Is the checkout process smooth and straightforward?
Without a well-designed UI, you can get lost in your shopping journey. Keep in mind that your goal while shopping is for it to become a successful, enjoyable, and stress-free one. If a shopping website seems confusing and complicated for you, find another one.
3. The More Browsing, The Merrier
While this tip may seem time- and effort-consuming, browsing through more than one online store will do more good for your shopping experience. In the eCommerce world, practice comparison shopping before finalizing your items to lessen your shopping regrets.
Comparison shopping is observed even in physical stores, where buyers tend to explore shops with the same category of products before deciding. Here are some advantages of browsing as many online stores as you can:
- A wider selection of products with different features
- Achieve lower prices and bigger savings
- Look for sales and discounts
- See more product reviews from certified customers
4. Take Note Of Your Measurements
Since items displayed online only contain the product’s description, pictures, and measurements, it’s difficult to get the right fit for apparel and clothing items. Before adding any clothing items into your cart, online stores put disclaimers, including taking your own risks as the buyer.
If you don’t know your measurements yet, grab your measuring tape and ask for help. Taking your measurements alone can be inaccurate, especially in more challenging body parts.
Research is paramount to a successful online shopping experience. Check out these other tips for buying clothes online.
5. Always Check Their Return Policy
A combination of security and reliability make up a customer’s trust. Nothing can make you more worry-free and at ease when an online store has a return policy with carefully explained details.
A return policy pertains to established rules that determine the process on how customers can return, exchange, or request for a refund for unsatisfactory and defective items bought from a store. Essentially, a brand’s return policies are an addition to their customer support and service.
Therefore, choose online businesses with clear and concise policies. In case you happen to receive the wrong size of your sneakers, you can freely exchange your product with the right measurements.
6. Read Customer Reviews
Along with faulty measurements, it’s important to be conscious about authenticity and product experience when shopping one. After making a purchase, one of the consumer’s responsibilities is to write meaningful reviews and feedback about their purchase. Writing a review doesn’t only help businesses, but prospective buyers as well.
When browsing which items to add on your cart, always take a good look at every product tab: details, measurements, ingredients, gallery, and most importantly, reviews. Products with little to no reviews and low feedback are red flags.
Ordering a product with excellent reviews makes you feel more secure about your order and will more likely satisfy you. However, look out for brands that encourage customers to write a positive review in exchange for freebies, as customers will tend to only mention the good things.
7. Be Careful With Splurging!
With discounts and sales everywhere, it’s difficult to resist the temptation of splurging on a few new items. Particularly, online shopping allows you to check out your cart’s items in a few clicks. Despite the convenience and savings that you can obtain, minimize your splurging and manage your funds better.
Today’s online business strategies involve free shipping, freebies, and limited-time offers, given that you meet the store’s minimum spend. While you can be carried away easily by these offers, it’ll be too late to realize that you have spent too much.
During this health crisis, be responsible enough to spend your money on essential items first.
8. Observe COVID-19 Safety Protocols
Being the last and most relevant tip today, only purchase from online stores that obey COVID-19 safety measures and protocols. After all, the pandemic encouraged you to resort to online shopping to avoid contracting the disease. However, your online orders might be putting you at a higher risk.
Moreover, here are some tips on remaining safe and virus-free while shopping online:
- As much as possible, make contactless payments through your credit card or bank account.
- Look out for fake eCommerce sites that don’t deliver your items, steal your financial information and funds, and more.
- Upon delivery, leave your parcel on a secure and isolated location, sanitize, and leave them for quite some time.
- Wash your hands immediately after contact with the parcel.
Online Shopping Tips
Online shopping is a fun experience, only if you know how to make it worth it. Through the online shopping tips discussed in this article, make sure that you’re getting the most from what you pay for and achieve an enjoyable, less stressful shopping experience during your stay at home.ย
Leave us a comment!