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More than 218 million Americans have shopped online this year. If you’re one of them, find out how you can save money every time you shop.
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More than 218 million Americans have shopped online so far this year, spending an average of $5,381 per person. And shopping online is not a trend that’s likely to fade away. If you’re one of the 218 million who log on to do your shopping, you may wonder how to find the best deals on the internet.
Fortunately, there is an abundance of shopping sites designed to sort through the best deals for your personal finances, so you don’t have to. Here, we highlight our favorites.
Capital One Shopping: Best overall
Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension and app. As you shop online, Capital One Shopping automatically searches for online coupons, lower prices, and rewards at over 30,000 online retailers.
When it finds a lower price, Capital One Shopping shows you where you can pay less and how much you’ll save. Capital One Shopping also recommends any available online coupons and promo codes. Even better, it tests the coupons and promo codes, looking for expired ones.
Just when you forget you have Capital One Shopping, it reminds you by popping up in the corner of your computer screen to show you a lower price. And no worries if you don’t have a Capital One credit card. You don’t need one to take advantage of Capital One Shopping. It’s available to download on your desktop, iOS, or Android device.
Google Shopping: Best for price comparison
By far, the fastest, simplest way to compare prices is to log into Google Shopping. Let’s say you’re shopping for Ugg slippers but want the lowest possible price. You would simply type “Ugg slippers” into the search bar at the top of the Google Shopping page, and a list appears. Not only does the list show where Ugg slippers are available, but the price is clearly displayed.
Whether you’re shopping for a chainsaw or a teapot, Google Shopping makes it easy to know where the best deals are to be found and helps preserve your checking account balance.
PayPal Honey: Best for locating coupons and promo codes
You can access Honey by adding the Honey browser extension to your computer or smartphone. Like Capital One Shopping, Honey can tell when you’re shopping, and as you choose items, it combs through more than 30,000 retailers to figure out whether you’re getting the lowest price. At the same time, it looks for relevant promo codes and automatically applies the one offering the biggest discount to your order.
The PayPal Honey app is currently available only for desktops, iPhones, and iPads.
DealNews.com: Best for discovering daily deals
Available on your desktop, tablet, iOS, or Android device, DealNews scours the web to find the best deals of the day. And if you’re someone who appreciates organization, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how easy DealNews makes your search.
Let’s say you’re searching for a new television. A pull-down menu takes you to electronics and then to any televisions currently available at a bargain. If a promo code is necessary, DealNews provides it, and even links you directly to the retailer’s site.
We only have one word of advice: Check when deals were listed and explore the latest deals first. It’s possible that some of the older deals have expired but have not yet been pulled down from the site.
Finally, another way to score a discount is by shopping with a cash back credit card. Some of what you spend will come back to you via check or statement credit. Any time you can save money upfront and on the back end, it’s a win-win.
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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Discover Financial Services is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Dana George has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and PayPal. The Motley Fool recommends Discover Financial Services and recommends the following options: short December 2023 $67.50 puts on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
