Annie
1st Aug 2024
Reading Time:
8
minutes
Online retailers often seem to be one of the best ways to save money shopping. But did you know that they often employ sneaky tricks to make you spend more, just like the supermarket tricks in real life? We’re going to look at common ways online shopping sites make you spend more – and how to beat them at their own game.
Trick One: Introductory Discounts
Trick Two: Subscription Models
Trick Four: More Items, More Discount
Online Retailer Trick: Introductory Discounts
How many times have you visited a website for the first time, to get pestered by a pop-up advocating a 10% discount on your first purchase? And how many times have you signed up to the newsletter to get your discount?
Not only are you likely to find bigger discount codes for the same site online, the discount also won’t apply to things like sale items or multibuy offers. So, you’ll add things to your cart and not necessarily realize they aren’t being discounted when you check out.
Signing up to newsletters can be a good way to spot upcoming deals but only from retailers that you know you like and will shop regularly from for your essentials or as somewhere you like to buy gifts from. Otherwise, you’ll be on the receiving end of lots of emails promoting things you don’t actually want or need – but their limited time discounts for newsletter subscribers can look so tempting…
Only sign up to receive a newsletter once you have used an online retailer more than once and have been happy with their service. Otherwise, it’s easy to get sucked in to deals for things you weren’t planning to buy in the first place!
Trick Two: Membership Subscription Models
This is a particularly big one for womenswear, for some reason. Fabletics is a great example – their introductory offer is two pairs of leggings for £24, instead of around £70 each. Sounds like a bargain, right? Except, you’re also signing on to pay for a monthly ‘membership’ that gives you access to unique prices. Memberships for websites like this can easily be £40 a month – and they might say that includes a ‘free’ item of clothing each month or ‘huge discounts’ on their usual prices. However, unless you’re in constant need of athletic gear or want to buy a bra every month (Shapermint, we’re looking at you), it’s not worth the price.
Play the game by signing up and getting your two pairs for £24 (or whatever the subscription introductory offer is for the online retailer you’re looking at) and then CANCEL YOUR MEMBERSHIP as soon as your order arrives. Always check the fine print too – make sure you’re not getting yourself into an annual membership contract before you place an order.
Trick Three: Free Gifts and Free Delivery
This is as common a trick in real life as it is for online retailers. You’re encouraged to spend over a certain amount in one shop to qualify for a ‘free’ gift. Usually, this does not work out as value for money!
The only times these offers work is when you were planning to spend that amount anyway, and the ‘gift’ is something you would use anyway (or can use for a present for someone else). A good example of where this can work is with Boots around Christmas time. They will run the ‘Buy Two, Get One Free’ model on many of their gift ranges. If you’re buying Christmas presents anyway, this can be a way to save money.
But if you don’t actually want that makeup set ‘Worth £70’ or similar, think twice about spending more money just to receive it. These free gift values are also usually based on the full size version of cosmetics (as an example) rather than the sample size, which is only evident in the fine print.
Free delivery tricks
Free delivery is also a culprit in this online retailer trick. How many times have you decided to add one more item to your shopping basket just to qualify for free delivery – but the item cost more than the delivery fee? This is, for some reason, an easy mental trick to play on ourselves, because we see delivery as a service and the extra item as a physical thing. So, it feels like it’s value for money when we receive an extra item than we’d planned to buy, even if it cost us more.
There are two easy ways around this: first, don’t bump up your order price just to qualify for free delivery (unless it is with items you want and use regularly).
To find a free delivery discount voucher for an online retailer, simply search ‘Retailer + free delivery code’ on Google. This can help you save money on your purchase. Check out our comprehensive article on this topic here.
If you’re looking to save money while shopping online, there are a few tips and tricks you can use. One way is to search for discount codes before making a purchase. By adding items to your basket and then searching for retailer discount codes, you can potentially save a lot of money. You can also use internet browser extensions like Honey to automatically find and apply codes for you.
Another way to save is by using cashback sites like TopCashBack and Quidco. These sites offer cashback on your purchases and often have exclusive discount codes as well. Just be sure to weigh the cashback amount against the discount percentage to see which option saves you more money.
For the latest deals and discounts, be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter. We send out the best deals, money-making tips, and money-saving advice to help you make the most of your shopping experience. Don’t miss out, sign up today! following sentence:
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The cat lounged in the sun, leisurely grooming itself with its pink tongue.