The pandemic has seen an unprecedented rise in online shopping as more people were forced to shop from home.

As lockdown eases more people continue to shop online and with the weather currently so unpredictable in the UK, many Brits may not feel brave enough to brace the high-street for shopping. 

With this in mind, personal finance experts Ocean Finance, have uncovered 12 insider online shopping hacks, that could save you hundreds. 

12 insider hacks to save more than £300 a year shopping online  

1. Abandon your basket and keep an eye on it

If you put something in your basket, start the checkout process, and then abandon it before it’s time to pay. There’s a chance that brands will email you a discount code to encourage you to check out.

Whilst this isn’t guaranteed, it’s certainly worth a go. Especially as the higher the value of the item, generally, the bigger the discount. 

2. Use a cashback and save up to £300 each year

When using a cashback site, you usually get a small percentage of your purchase back in a couple of weeks or months’ time.

Whilst the amount is usually small, if you consistently use them, the pounds can soon add up, with Top Cashback suggesting you can save up to £300 per year.

3. Save your shopping for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

Most people tend to do their online shopping between Sunday and Monday, so many retailers tend to offer discounts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to lure customers to spend. 

4. Make sure the delivery fee is refunded if you return an item within 14 days

Did you know that retailers are sitting on £4.6 billion in unreturned delivery fees, due to customers not realising they are entitled to money back?

If you return an item within 24 days, you should get a refund for the price of the goods AND the standard postage cost paid for home delivery. If you do not, you have a right to ask for it.

5. Say it’s your birthday

Lots of stores offer freebies or discounts on your birthday, so cash in on them! To be eligible, most retailers require you to be signed up to their loyalty programme and/or newsletter, so get yourself enrolled for lots of extra birthday goodies.

For example, H&M members (which is free to sign-up for) get 25% off one item of their choice on their birthday.

6. Speak to live chat to haggle a discount code

Next time that little online chat pop-up appears on your screen, ask the agent if they have promotion codes that they can share.

It might not always work but it’s worth trying. The same goes if you have a discount code that no longer works. They might just send the new ones via chat. 

7. Use this tool to get free Amazon delivery 

If you don’t have Amazon Prime and need to spend over the £20 threshold for free delivery, this tool will find the cheapest item to add to your basket to get you there. Some examples include paprika seasoning mix for 50p or Dove beauty cream wash at £1.

9. Use your coupons in the right order

If you’ve got more than one coupon at your disposal, make sure you use that wisely. For example, if you have a £10 voucher and a 20% off voucher, make sure to use the 20% off first as this will get the most money off the larger amount. Then use the £10 voucher for extra savings.

10. Sign up for newsletters

More often than not, when you sign up for a retailer’s newsletter, a welcome email will land in your inbox.

In that email, there will, typically, be some sort of welcome discount. It doesn’t cost a thing to sign-up - just a second or two of your time, and you can always unsubscribe straight away.

11. Clear your cookies and go incognito

Dynamic pricing is when retailers show different customers different prices depending on their shopping habits. If you’re a regular shopper, they might assume you’re willing to pay anything to get your goods and bump up the price as a result.

To avoid being rumbled, clear your cookies and go incognito in your browser. 

12. Head to online outlet stores

Did you know that many high-street retailers have online outlet stores? They sell the same quality items as their non-outlet counterparts, but for a fraction of the price.

For example stores such as Anne Summers have outlet stores on eBay while Clarks has an online outlet store. 

Find out more ways to save miney online at Ocean Finance.