3 Things Online Shoppers Must Always Do

Shopping from the comfort of your own home on a tablet, laptop or mobile, has become a normal way to purchase goods in recent years. Just a decade or so ago we were still heavily reliant on the high street, now online shopping has become normal and more advanced as our demand as grown. 

Shopping from the comfort of your own home on a tablet, laptop or mobile, has become a normal way to purchase goods in recent years. Just a decade or so ago we were still heavily reliant on the high street, now online shopping has become normal and more advanced as our demand as grown. 

The fact that shopping online is so easy is the reason why so many of us fail to make the most of it. The online shopping experience can be enhanced by doing a few things each time to ensure your cash stays safe and that you get the best deals. Remember that online shops exist to make a profit, so they’re designed to make it as easy as possible for you to shop there. Turn the tables and make online shopping work for you. 

1. Save Money, on Every Purchase

• Use comparison websites
  Insurance comparison sites are very popular, and you should use these and other sites to save money on purchases large or small. For finances go to Compare the Market or Money Supermarket. Use Google search if you're buying branded goods, you can often find the same goods for sale across many retailers, and then you can pick the cheapest price.
   
• Look for voucher codes
  If you’re convinced that you definitely want to buy a specific item online, you should first look to see whether there are any vouchers available for that store. Simply search the name of the store and ‘voucher’ to see if anything’s available. It could save you a lot of money. Hot UK Deals, Voucher Codes and Money Saving Expert often list the latest promotional codes.
   
• Sign up for email newsletters
  Love a particular shop? Sign up for their email newsletters, you’ll be the first to hear about special discount codes, sales and other promotions. 

2. Shop Securely

• Check that the website is secure
  To protect against your financial details being stolen you should always check that the site you are shopping on is using the right security measures, and the payment provider is secure. Many sites use 'https://' which means that the page you are browsing is secure, check for it in the address bar. If a padlock appears during payment this means that the site is using security measures to encrypt payments.  
   
• Use a third party payment service
  If you are wary of entering your card details on a site, see if they accept PayPal. Many of the big retailers do, you can pay as normal but they will never see your card details and you are protected under PayPal's terms and conditions. 
   
• Use a Credit Card
  Many credit card providers offer insurance against fraud - so if your personal details are stolen during a transaction your provider can help you.  

3. Earn Cashback 
Did you know that you can earn money on your shopping? Use cashback sites like Quidco and TopCashBack to get a kick back on your online shopping. Read our blog post dedicated to cashback sites.