Online shopping has been a thing for some time now. However, it’s safe to say that this form of shopping has become more popular during the last year and a half. The main reason for this, of course, is the COVID-19 situation. If you are one of the people who are tech-savvy and you want to shop online, you should know that even though it’s rather convenient, it also comes with a few risks. To stay safe, you simply have to know a few things. This is exactly why today we are going to share 10 online shopping hacks everyone should know about.
Contents
- Don’t Use A Public Wi-Fi To Shop Online
- Shop Only On Reputable Sites
- Use Two-Factor Authentication
- Search For Coupons
- Leave Your Items In The Cart For A Day
- Try Asking For Coupons On Live Chat
- Shop At The Right Time
- Look For Sites That Offer Free Shipping
- Subscribe To Your Favorite Sites To Get Notifications Regarding Discounts
- Follow Your Favorite Brands On Social Media
- Conclusion
Don’t Use A Public Wi-Fi To Shop Online
One of the best ways to protect yourself from hacker attacks is to not use a public Wi-Fi network when shopping online. Public Wi-Fi networks are usually insecure and hackers might be lurking in search of naive users. You definitely don’t want to enter your credit card information while using an insecure network.
Shop Only On Reputable Sites
Public Wi-Fi networks are not the only place you can be exposed to hacker attacks. You should know that hackers can find you on shopping sites that are not secure. This is exactly why you should only shop on reputable sites. If you see tempting offers on sites that you’ve never heard of before, make sure to do your research and try to check the domain authority of the site. If it looks like a scam site, don’t shop there.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
In case you want to online shop while using a public Wi-Fi network, which is not recommended, make sure to use two-factor authentication. This software sends you a secret code whenever you enter your credentials on a site. You have to use this code to log into your account. This means that, even if a hacker steals your personal information, they won’t be able to log into your account without a code. This is one of the best ways to protect yourself while shopping online.
Search For Coupons
If you want to save money during your online shopping adventures, then you should definitely search for coupons. There are plenty of sites that offer exclusive coupons, you just have to find them. One of the best ways is to search for the name of the retailer, followed by “coupons”. Or you can try sites like RetailMeNot, CouponCabin, and Savings.com.
Leave Your Items In The Cart For A Day
This is a hack not a lot of people know about. If you leave an item in your cart for a day, the site might offer you an exclusive discount as an incentive for you to buy the product. Of course, not every site will do this, but it’s definitely worth a try.
Try Asking For Coupons On Live Chat
Truth be told, sometimes it’s best to simply ask for coupons politely. A lot of shopping sites have a live chat feature. Use it to ask for coupons. You never know, someone might give them to you.
Shop At The Right Time
When it comes to online shopping, timing is one of the most important things. This is why, if you want to get the best deals, you should shop during the holidays. Also, retailers tend to give discounts on Thursdays and Fridays.
Look For Sites That Offer Free Shipping
This is one of the most important things you need to consider when shopping online. Shipping can cost a lot of money, especially during the busy part of the season. Therefore, in order to save money, you should only look for those sites that offer free shipping.
Subscribe To Your Favorite Sites To Get Notifications Regarding Discounts
If you have a few shopping sites that you visit on a regular basis, you should definitely subscribe to them. This way you will get notifications whenever there’s an exclusive offer or a discount. Subscribing to a shopping site is a simple thing to do, but it can save you a fortune.
Follow Your Favorite Brands On Social Media
In case you don’t already follow your favorite brands on social media, make sure to do this. How can this help you with online shopping? Well, it’s simple, the popular brands usually publish exclusive deals and share coupons on their social media pages. However, those are only available to the most loyal fans who follow the brands on social media. If you want to get a good deal or a limited-edition item, make sure to follow the brands you like on social media.
Conclusion
Online shopping can be rather exciting and convenient, there’s no question about it. However, it can also be dangerous if you are not careful enough. Therefore, if you want to stay safe and save money while online shopping, make sure to consider the things we discussed in this post.