Shopping online has always been a convenient way to buy holiday gifts. But it can also save you money.
This holiday season, merchants are trying to lure shoppers not only with deep discounts on a variety of gifts but also free shipping with low or no spending thresholds.
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How to get the best deals online this holiday season
Compare prices » Start with a Web search of the product you want to purchase or use a price-comparison website such as Bizrate.com or PriceGrabber.com.
Use coupon codes » Always consult websites such as RetailMeNot.com or CouponCabin.com prior to making an online purchase. There you’ll find a coupon code for a product discount or for free shipping. Some sites even allow shoppers to use more than one coupon code per order. Compare offers between a couple of sites. http://Amazon.com may offer a book for $20, while the Barnes & Noble price is $25. But if Barnes & Noble includes a 30 percent-off coupon code, that brings price down to $17.50.
Avoid shipping charges » Retailers know that shoppers don’t like shipping charges, and most sites have ways to get around them. http://Amazon.com offers free “Super Saver” shipping on orders of $25 or more, although not all products on the site apply. Many free-shipping promotions have certain spending thresholds. For more information, go to Freeshipping.org. Some retailers also offer a buy-online-pick-up-in-store option, avoiding shipping costs altogether.
Read product ratings » This is one of the benefits of online shopping. Many websites include customer ratings of various products, which contain plenty of useful information.
Go social » Major retailers are offering more money-saving deals on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. “Like” or “follow” your favorite merchants during the holiday season.
Monitor daily deals » Sites such as http://Groupon.com, Eversave.com, LivingSocial.com and PlumDistrict.com offer half-off deals from a variety of online merchants. Last week, http://Groupon.com offered a $40 Body Shop certificate for $20.
Get cash back » Cash-back websites such as Ebates.com, ShopatHome.com and FatWallet.com earn a small commission for referring shoppers to online merchants. In turn, these sites share part of the commission with shoppers who make purchases. You must start with one of these Web pages and click on the merchant with which you plan to shop. Not all online merchants work with cash-back sites, but many do.
Know return policies » Make sure you know how an unwanted item can be returned. Some merchants allow shoppers who have purchased online to return an item in-store, others don’t.
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Many retailers unveiled generous holiday promotions this past week, such as Lands’ End, which offered $40 off an order of at least $100 and free shipping on orders of more than $50.
Nearly 93 percent of online retailers say they plan to offer free shipping at some point through December, up from less than 85 percent last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Many retailers say they are offering better and earlier free-shipping promotions this year than last.
"Free shipping has really become the norm," said Brian Hoyt, spokesman for RetailMeNot.com, a site that helps consumers find money-saving offers for online merchants.
The shift toward free shipping is simple. Many retail surveys show shoppers don’t like to pay added fees, and retailers this holiday season will offer a variety of ways to avoid added costs.
Global retailer Walmart has taken several steps to expand free shipping, including letting shoppers order online and picking up their products at local Walmart stores. Free shipping to a home or business also is available to those who order at least $45 worth of goods online. The shipping promotions are in addition to a variety of deep Web-only discounts that will be offered throughout the holiday season.
Retailers are continuing to convince more shoppers to do at least some of their shopping online. According to NRF data, the average shopper this year plans to do about 36 percent of holiday shopping online, up from 32.7 percent last year.
Brad Wilson of the deals-oriented website Bradsdeals.com, said consumers will see all-time low prices on televisions, computers, cameras and tablet computers.
Although some of the best in-store deals can be found on Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — some of the best online deals of the season will be found three days later, on Cyber Monday. "Expect many online retailers to have best-of-season coupons and offers that day," Wilson said.
With the economy slow to mend, consumer confidence remains weak, meaning people need to feel like they are getting a deal to be convinced open their pocketbooks. Wilson believes retailers will deliver those deals this holiday season.
"Retailers and consumers alike have spent 2011 battling between bouts of confidence and fear, and I expect the holiday shopping season to be no different."
Twitter: @cheapchick
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