During the pandemic, a great deal of our shopping has shifted to the online format – and everyone can use some extra savings! Here are five creative ways to help you save money when you shop online.

Wait on every purchase. Online retailers purposely make it quick and easy to buy the items in your online shopping cart. Outsmart them by waiting between choosing your purchases and actually purchasing them. This trick serves a dual purpose: First, you may find you don’t really need or even want the item after a few days. Second, there’s a chance the retailer will email a coupon for you to use for the “forgotten items” in your cart.

Outsmart dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing is one of the most powerful tools merchants use to get online shoppers to spend more. It involves using sophisticated algorithms and tracking to show shoppers prices based on their location, browsing history and spending patterns. Retailers learn each shopper’s price point and show them products in that range. Fortunately, you can outsmart dynamic pricing by following these tips, especially when shopping for items with a wide price range, like airline tickets.

1. Clear your browsing history and cookies or shop with your browser in incognito or private mode.
2. Log out of your email and social media accounts.
3. Choose localized websites of international brands instead of being redirected to the U.S. site.

Layer coupons. You may already be in the habit of never completing a purchase without doing a quick search for coupons, but even when you have those coupons on hand, there’s a technique that will guarantee the best savings. Always use a promo code before a discount coupon. A promo code will take a specified percentage off your entire purchase while a discount code will take off a dollar amount. For example, if you have a 15% off promo code and a $5-off coupon to use on a $100 purchase. First, use the promo code to shave $15 off your purchase. Next, apply the discount to bring your total down to just $80.

Ask for price-drop refunds. Discovering that an item you purchased yesterday has just dropped in price can be incredibly frustrating; however, some companies take the edge off by offering to refund the price difference within a specific timeframe. Amazon, for example, gives a grace period of seven days from the delivery date to claim discount refunds. You can use camelcamelcamel.com  to monitor price changes on the retail giant’s website.

Don’t shop alone. Take advantage of your Benefits Plus® checking account with SeaComm to access the best savings! Your membership entitles you to discounted gift and eGift cards, flight and hotel savings, wholesale savings club discounts, and much more. Click here for more information, or stop by your local SeaComm branch to upgrade your checking account.

For complete information, terms, conditions and exclusions please visit www.benefits-plus.org or call 866-329-7587.