I do a lot of shopping for this blog. I love sharing things that I love. I order a lot, I test them out, and some things I just hate and I end up sending them back. But along the way, I have learned these shopping secrets to really save money, and I thought I would share them with you.
Let me tell you guys, these shopping secrets not only save your money but will make you smart while spending, so you will never regret after you purchase online anything. So let’s talk about the top shopping secrets.
12 Shopping Secrets Retailers Don’t Want You to Know
There are the top 12 shopping secrets are as follows:
1. Best Day for Online Shopping
This is just like a simple online shopping tip. I don’t know if you guys know this, but most stores online post their sales starting on Tuesday. So if you are ever just curious what the best day to shop online is, it’s most likely Tuesday.
2. Google Shopping for Deals
You might know this shopping secret, or you might not, but when you are online shopping, don’t forget to check Google Shopping. There’s like a little tab at the top of the Google search engine, and you can search by whatever product you want to buy.
For the best results, Google automatically categorizes that item from all of the retailers across the internet, and you can kind of price compare and make sure that you are finding it at the best price.
3. Outsmarting Dynamic Pricing
This is one of the interesting shopping secrets because it has to do with what’s called dynamic pricing. So maybe you don’t even know what dynamic pricing is, but it’s when retailers change the price based on your location your search history, or your behavior.
So the best example is if you are constantly searching for Cabo Mexico vacation tickets, they know you want to go there, and so the next day that you visit their site, they’re going to increase the price on you.
So the best way to get around this is to go to your search engine and open a private window or go into incognito mode, and that opens a completely private window where they don’t know your location, they don’t know your search history. It’s completely clear, and then you get the best price. No dynamic pricing.
4. Amazon’s Hidden Discounts
I love Amazon. I just want to share a couple of Amazon shopping tricks with you. There are so many people that don’t know this exists or they think it’s a little scam or maybe too good to be true, and it has to do with the little Amazon coupons that are right on the product pages of items that we’re buying.
Don’t forget to check that little box. You can save like 5, 10, 15 percent, maybe even more, and then sometimes you can even save like a specific dollar amount, and it’ll be like $5 off or $10 off, and you have to check that little box, and then at checkout, it reduces the amount, and you see it in the checkout.
5. Third-Party Sellers on Amazon
Another Amazon little hack or trick that I have is to always look at the pricing for third-party sellers.
So that’s along the right-hand side, and a lot of times you can find the exact same product for way less, and a lot of times it’s still two-day free Prime shipping. I mean, like, you can’t beat it. But then I do want to just caution you with this.
There are certain categories and certain items I would never do this for. Electronics being one of them and also anything we put on our bodies or maybe ingest, you know, there are some scammy things out there.
I mean, we know that with the third-party sellers, but a lot of times if it’s clothing, if it’s just like a dumb little product, you know, not dumb, but you know what I mean, like nothing that’s like life-altering, go for the third-party seller and save some money.
6. Target’s Price Matching
Next, let’s talk about Target because who doesn’t love Target? I love online shopping at Target. I love in-store shopping at Target. It’s all just great. Yeah, let’s start off with in-store shopping, and also, believe it or not, it has to do with Amazon.
So if you have the Amazon app, if you don’t, consider it. I mean, it’s like a really good app. But you can actually, you know, while you’re shopping at Target, if you find something you want to buy, you can scan it with the Amazon app and find it or you can just search for it but find the same item and then price compare.
If the Amazon price is lower, you can then take it to the front desk or customer service, and they will price match it to the Amazon price. And again, I don’t do this for every single item. I do this for bigger-ticket items, but I mean, you can definitely save a lot of money.
7. Target’s Versatile Registry
The next idea or tip, it’s so cool. This is the coolest thing. Again, this has to do with Target and its registry system.
So when we think of registering for items, a lot of times we think of weddings or baby showers, but Target has since expanded its registry system to basically include anything. You can make it completely customizable.
It can be for housewarming parties. It can be for birthdays. It can be for kids going off to college. All you have to do is register for items and then create an event date, and then any item that’s not purchased through that event date, you then get a 15% off coupon for the remaining items. So there you go. I haven’t used it, but I mean, it’s a good idea.
8. H&M’s Sustainable Savings
This next shopping secret has to do with H&M, and I do want to preface that this particular program is on hold currently, but I keep seeing that they’re going to be starting it back up any day.
So just keep an eye out for an in-store bin at the front of the store, near the cash register. This is actually a recycling program, and you can also save money. So all you do every time you go shopping, this can be done an unlimited amount of times.
All you have to do is bring a bag of textiles. It could be clothes. It could be towels. It could be sheets, and you only need three to five articles of clothing, but an employee does need to see that you’re making a donation, and then they will issue you a 15% off coupon for in-store, and I believe it’s valid for three months or so.
And like I said, this can be done over and over and over again. Like every time you go to the store, you can bring a bag, get a 15% off coupon, and save money.
And I just really like how not only is it promoting sustainability, but it’s recycling. It’s good for the environment. Every week, they gather up the donations. They take it to a factory, and they recycle it.
9. Hobby Lobby Surprises
This next shopping secret that retailers don’t want you to know because they keep it a secret has to do with Hobby Lobby, which I actually don’t even have a Hobby Lobby near me.
But I just heard about this repeatedly from a dear friend who is obsessed with crafting. And this doesn’t even have anything to do with crafting. It has to do with home decor. But apparently, twice a year, they have this big, crazy sale that’s completely unadvertised.
It’s just a big surprise, and they mark down their home decor and their home accents by 50% to 60%, which in that particular category, you can save hundreds of dollars. So if you happen to have a store near you, keep an eye out.
10. TJ Maxx Shopping Realities
Let’s talk TJ Maxx. I mean, I have a lot of thoughts about TJ Maxx, some really good, some maybe not so good. Overall, I do really like the store. I mean, heck, that planter I could not find the planter that was in my mind, and then lo and behold, it was at TJ Maxx.
So I’m not knocking it completely, but with that said, I feel like people walk into that store thinking that everything is just a great deal. You’re saving so much money, and that is just so not true. I mean, they inflate their savings by like 60% to 70%.
I mean, I have done my homework. I like price compare so many things, and most of the time, you’re really not saving much money at all. So like on the tag, you’ll see the original price, which usually they actually just make up, and then there’s their price, and it’s just such a huge difference.
And if you just do some simple searches on the internet, it’s really not all that it’s cracked up to be. So just FYI.
11. Subscribe and Save Strategies
The next shopping secret that retailers might not want you to know, has to do with the subscribe and save feature, not every retailer has this, but you know, a lot of the big ones do. A lot of department stores do.
Normally, I’m not a fan of subscriptions, but there are certain situations where I do think this can be a good idea if it’s things that you do actually order on repeat. You can save 15% to 20% if you subscribe.
It just automatically arrives at your door, and it honestly is worth it. It really is. It’s just more that we don’t take the time to actually sign up for it. I do think it can be good.
But with that said, you can also just get around it, and if you do just want to save some money like 15% to 20%, you can go ahead and set up that recurring delivery, and then as soon as it arrives, you can just go online and immediately cancel it.
It’s almost always like no questions asked, easy peasy. Just something to keep in mind.
12. Chat for Discount Codes
So this next one I definitely do way more than I would like to admit, but like why not? I mean, it’s there for a reason. So when we are online shopping, do you ever notice how sometimes in the bottom corner, there will be a little chat box or a little bubble that will pop up and be like, “Hello, how can I help you today?” And most times we just ignore it.
We X out of it. We don’t even pay much attention to it. But did you know that if you start chatting with them and you ask if they have any current discount codes or promo codes available, you almost always get one?
It’s amazing. So next time you see that and you actually want to make a purchase, just ask for a promo code. You’ll most likely get one.
Wrap-Up on Shopping Secrets:
So there you have it. Those are my 12 shopping secrets that retailers don’t want you to know. All these above shopping secrets or tricks or ideas will save your money, and help you to make the best purchase decision.
I hope this information will be helpful. If you have any questions regarding shopping secrets, put them in the comment section below. You can follow us, I mean to the website for product reviews and shopping guides. Thanks for giving your precious time.