Saving is the new way of spending money. No matter what you are doing – shopping, paying bills, or travelling; you’ll find tons of ways to do that. The first mantra is to shop, travel or pay bills in the online mode.
Digitalisation has created huge opportunities for saving. In the early days, where coupons used to be the means of saving in physical shops, digitalization has not only created the online version of coupons but many other ways too. In this article, we’re going to talk about that.
With the good redemption of coupons and other online offers, many websites have introduced ways in which their customers can save while they are on their site. This has many benefits for the business. Helping their customers save will help them retain more customers and promote sales online.
But what does it mean for you – the customer? Saving, a lot of them! If you were wondering what methods of savings are available for you, here is the list.
1.Use a discount coupon
Never underestimate the power of online coupons. With the help of coupons, you can save on lots of categories when you shop online. Plus, many apps and websites like Myntra, Amazon, BigBasket, Ajio, Lenskart, Netflix etc. offer discounts too that can be used instantly. This will reduce the cost of the products or the service that you are purchasing from the website. This is a very effective way to help reduce your expenses while shopping.
Moreover, the categories that you can shop from are limitless. Fashion, electronics, Food, furniture, etc. are some of the categories covered.
The way you use coupons is pretty simple too. It can be done in 2 ways.
- Copying the code and applying it on the website
- Using a deal from a marketplace and shopping as usual
There’s a third way to use a coupon. This happens in the merchants app itself and you don’t need to access any other coupons marketplace for that. While you are at the checkout page (the page where you make the payment), you will find the offers listed by the app itself. This happens in the Ajio app, Swiggy app and more. You will also be able to check the eligibility criteria for these offers. Thus you can decide if that offer works for your purchase or not. If yes, all you have to do is select the offers to avail the discounts.
The apps go a step further and make it easy for you to see if the offer is valid on that purchase or not by deactivating the ones that are not. This means you cannot select the ones which are not applicable for you. As soon as you select the applicable ones, the deduction in price can instantly be seen.
2. Pay once and save for the rest
In addition to using coupons, you can also buy packages that help you save. For example, Swiggy has a pack which waives the delivery fee for 1 month or 3 months depending on which one you choose. If you are a frequent user of this app, the savings are surprisingly good. Not just that, you can also check how much you have saved once the subscription period is over. Along with free delivery, it also provides you with multiple Buy 1 Get 1 offers and flat discounts on many of its restaurants.
The same applies to other services as well. These packs will help you save recurring costs by spending once for the package. You will surely be able to get your savings game sky high.
3. Refer your friends
The next up on our list is referrals. You can save on the products by referring your friends to it. Remember when Uber drivers shocked themselves as every other passenger was hailing a free ride. Thanks to the referral links spreading like fire. It was a groundbreaking strategy in Uber India and it increased many more customers for the cab service.
The way it works is when you sign up to an ecommerce portal, you can also invite your friends or family to use the service. This happens from the refer and earn section of the app. From this page, you can create a custom link for referring. When you share this link, the user can click on it and start using the app. When this user places the first order, or subscribes to the service (basically perform any transaction on the website) you will get your referral rewards. And so will they! These points are available in the form of real cash, free service or coins that can be redeemed later.
4. Sales
The biggest one in this list, Sales, is a sure shot way of being able to save while making online purchases. Sales happen throughout the year. Let that be festivals, or shopping events, ecommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart and more conduct sales on a regular basis. A lot of products including appliances, fashion apparels, gadgets and phones, and even groceries are available at discounts during such sales. So if you are looking to save on your favorite products that you have shortlisted, wait for the nearest sales. They will help you buy the same items for a lesser price.
5. Gift cards
Gifts are stressful. They start with shock of having forgotten an occasion, and end with a drained wallet. On one hand it might be okay to spend a lot of money on a gift, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Here’s the solution. Use a gift card. This will help you save the trouble of deciding the gift or even going over budget. By simply sending a gift card, you are saying that you care about them, but also entitling them to pick their own gift. A handwritten note would go a long way.
Conclusion
Ready to save some money? Try out the different ways mentioned in this article. You will thank us later. Let us know which one you find most effective in the comments below. Or just share your experience after saving. We love to read stories.
