Online Shopping Tips
We’ve always loved online shopping but now, more than ever, we’re buying nearly everything online. It’s amazing what will ship right to your door! Whether you’re new to online shopping or a veteran, we’ve made a list of tips to help you have the best experience possible and hopefully avoid any online shopping fails.
Even though in some cities, shopping and retail restrictions have started to lift, many of us feel more comfortable continuing to shop online. From groceries, to wine, to clothing and furniture, you can purchase nearly everything online. And even small boutiques have pivoted their businesses to offer curbside pickup or local delivery.
Get in touch with your favorite local stores
We have a few favorite local stores that haven’t traditionally offered online orders, but many of them have created websites or have started taking orders via email and DM. So, if you have your heart set on a new outfit from a local boutique or a wine basket for a gift from your favorite wine store, make sure to reach out to them directly if they haven’t launched a website. They may still be able to accommodate your request and it’s a great way to support your favorite stores.
Do your research
If you’re interested in ordering from an online store that you have never shopped at make sure to do your research! We’ve both fallen victim to the online scams. Make sure the website looks professional and check for social media pages that match, read reviews, and ask your friends.
Some sites that you come across through advertisements or clicking from other websites often have pricing that looks too good to be true! And it probably is… if you see an item that is significantly cheaper than what you’ve seen for the same or similar products on other sites, it is probably a knock-off. We’ve been burned by this in the past and ended up with an item that looked NOTHING like the site claimed.
Know your measurements
We both love shopping for clothes online. It’s hard to do a good clothing shop and take the time to try on items with toddlers in tow. So, we often buy clothes online from our favorite stores. We always take the time to look at the sizing charts and measurements for the items we’re looking at and read the reviews on each item. Sometimes, you’ll find most customers size up or down, or the fabric turns out to be different than expected. We also like to look for real-life photos of customers wearing the items, often featured in the reviews or on the site’s media pages. Some stores will also provide the models measurements and what size they’re wearing which can be a great reference point. When it comes to clothing, reviewing the return policy is always a good idea too. We especially love when stores allow you to shop online but return in person to store. It’s so much more convenient than sending something back in the mail.
Search the item to check for a better price
When we’re shopping for more expensive items, especially when it’s from a “box store”, we’ll take the time to Google the brand name and item to see if we can find a better price somewhere else or if a local store sells the item.
Google is also great for searching for promo/discount codes! Some sites will have all their current promotions listed on their site, but there are a few sites that compile all active promo codes for various sites – why not save the shipping or a couple bucks with a quick search.
Protect your credit card
Finally, our biggest tip, is to always check to make sure you’re paying on a secure website. Never put your credit card information in an email and if you can, pay by PayPal.
What do you think of our list of tips? Do you have any tips to add? Leave us a comment!