Written in Partnership with Tedfuel
In 2022 we shop online as if it were second nature and something we’ve been doing for decades, and it’s easy to forget just how swiftly our purchasing practices have altered so significantly.
Obviously, the internet has been part of our lives for some while now, but while many of us have been shopping online for years, the shift that has seen us now conduct almost all our financial interactions in this manner is quite stark.
The fact that we can so easily and quickly complete a purchase is, of course, a victory in terms of the technological leaps we’ve made as a society, but it’s also a seismic jump we need to take with the right amount of care and attention.
So to help you on that front, here are nine tips that will help you complete your online transactions with a minimum of fuss, safely and securely, while also making the most of your financial investment.
Read Reviews
Fortunately, this is something that most of us already do, but we should be doing it more intelligently. Simply going on Google and seeing what random people have said about a particular site or service isn’t enough.
We strongly suggest you seek out impartial and genuine reviews, which are usually best found on specific comparison sites; we are talking about those with Top 10 lists of the best products and services for a specific niche; here, you can often find detailed analysis and key information that can not only root out those companies and brands that aren’t worthy of your attention but also provide crucial details that could help you get better deals that can save you a great deal of money.
Adopt Basic Safety Practices
There are some easy and basic ways to help keep you safe when shopping online. These include only visiting sites with an HTTPS prefix and not those with HTTP. Make sure the site has a padlock symbol on the URL bar.
Be 100% sure that the anti-virus software you are running is not expired, and avoid using the same passwords for all your needs, and especially passwords that are very obvious (and yes, this means those that are just your date or birth or pet’s name).
Never click on unsolicited emails and SMS messages, and do not, under any circumstances, click on links that may be contained in those communications.
Always Be Wary
We are now so used to shopping online that we can often be complacent. That means we might follow a Google search for a certain product or service, click through to a new site we’ve never been on, and then hastily complete a purchase, usually because a deal seems so good.
This is a mistake. Whatever activity you conduct online, you need to be incredibly wary, which means taking a breath before you attempt to buy what is in your cart.
You should do this for several reasons, not least because you might not know the slightest thing about the website you are on but also because you may have yet to consider the purchase itself. Do you really need this item? Is the deal really as good as it looks?
Shop Wisely and Within Your Budget
The fact that we can find whatever we want whenever we want can make shopping too easy. We, as a society, can’t stop buying for the sake of it. This, to some extent, is also relevant when out shopping in physical stores and malls, and it’s part and parcel of our need to feel the buzz of treating ourselves to something new.
However, online this buzz can be achieved far too easily. There are ways to negate excessive spending, and one that is very useful is the following. If you are visiting a site that you regularly shop at, by all means, look around and add whatever attracts your attention to your cart.
Enjoy the visceral pleasure of the pursuit and capture of those items that really interest you. Then, when you are done, close the browser. Then, wait a day or two, come back to that site, take a look at the cart, and think about which items are still grabbing you.
You’ll be amazed at how effective this approach can be. By dispassionately rethinking these potential purchases, you’ll find that you don’t actually want to buy all those items in your cart or bag. The act of taking time away from the process and returning can prove very effective in terms of staying within any preset budgets you have set yourself.
Shop Around
If you know what it is you want, then don’t just buy it in the first place you find it; shop around, as that’s pretty much the biggest selling point of shopping online. The online shopping experience is, in many ways, almost limitless, and you can always find a bargain.
Obviously, you should only shop in reputable online locations, but once you’ve established this, the world is your oyster. By shopping in a variety of online stores, you can also maximize any promotional bonus for doing so. For instance, if you sign up with a new store, they may offer free delivery or some other form of incentive.
Wait for the Right Day
Though clearly, sales days are in many ways designed to create a need that doesn’t exist, shopping on these occasions is where you’ll find genuine bargains and great deals. This means you would do well to do as much of your big-ticket item shopping on these days rather than randomly doing so throughout the year.
As well as specific internet shopping days like Black Friday, keep an eye out for key sales dates that your favorite sites are running. If these dates are well outside the relevant gift-giving zones, then you need to plan better and plan ahead. This is how you can genuinely make huge savings that really stack up.
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