Digital Content Manager Online shopping has been an integral part of every individual’s day-to-day life. That too with pandemic forcing us to stay closed inside four walls, people started using online shopping sites for buying all commodities while having their sip of coffee.
We’ll always feel excited to buy the latest arrivals and trendy products at different shopping sites. However, you need to be careful with certain aspects before spending your hard-earned money from your pocket.
So wondering what are those “7 important must-know things”?
Don’t worry! I’ve done the hard work for you!
In this article, I’ll be sharing the top 7 things you must do while shopping online so you can have a secure buying journey as well as get the satisfying feeling of investing in the right product.
Ready to dive in?
Let’s go!
1. Research about the product in multiple forums
If you are about to buy a new product that is not much familiar to you, do not immediately pop into a store and order it. Instead, try to research how well is that product perceived among the consumers in the market.
To get a better idea, start by reading the latest reviews of that product. If any customer has posted an unboxing video about that product view that fully. Also, don’t go by the first few reviews, analyze completely by reading a maximum number of reviews until you can.
Another important aspect is that, don’t decide the product’s quality by the shopping site you use. Though the site has a good reputation, there are chances for things to get wrong.
So it is always a safer step to read product reviews and understand what impact it has given to the customers.
2. Have an eye on low sale products
This is one of the trickiest tactics employed by online store owners to move the slow-selling products. They’ll tag very low prices for those products indicating them to be discount offers.
We as consumers will easily fall into that trap and receive low-quality products which deliberately leads to a bad shopping experience.
So what I’m trying to convey is, any e-commerce store that promises too much for a lesser price is suspicious. Before making the purchase enquire about the product’s quality and other details. If it is convincing you can go for it, otherwise, it is better to avoid buying such cheap stuff.
3. Make payments from a private connection
Ever since the emergence of digital payments, people have started making payments at their own convenience. This is an appreciable fact but there is also a hidden risk involved in this matter.
If you are like me then you would have made payments through a wireless network. Enabling payments via wireless networks must be secure as you are entering potential information like your card’s CVV number and other confidential credentials.
So always use a private network that is closed and encrypted. You can confidently share all your credentials as they will be locked and nobody can try to access them.
Avoid using public WIFI as they are open to all and hackers can quickly steal your details as these networks are highly vulnerable to scams.
4. Check the company’s refund and shipping terms
Placing an order is easy but until you receive it you may be tensed regarding its quality. As a precautionary step, you need to read their shipping and refund policies before committing to make a purchase.
Let me highlight my own experience in this matter. I ordered herbal hair oil from Amazon a few months back. I received the package on the specified date. But when I opened the package the oil bottle seemed to be broken.
Immediately I called their customer care and asked for product replacement. They were polite and the process was so smooth. After a few days, I got the same product in a good condition without any damage.
So instead of crying over spilled milk, you can revise the company’s shipping and refund conditions. Knowing whether it takes too long to deliver or will a refund be issued lets you make a smart decision on buying that product or not.
5. Compare prices of similar products
The ultimate motive to perform this step is that you need to purchase the best product at the best price. If the same product is available for a low cost at some other site, we might immediately switch to it. But a question might pop, “Does a low price indicate that the product is of low-quality”?
So the best way to find out whether you have made a smart move is to compare multiple sites, check the price, quality, features, and analyze which store offers the same product at a genuine cost.
6. Before buying gift cards “be aware”
In the excitement to buy gift cards, we might blindly ignore the safety precautions and end up losing money. Gift cards are one of the creative ways to easily shop during the holiday season.
So my dear shoppers before you buy or give please follow these precautions for gift cards-
- Examine the gift card carefully. It should have all legible stickers and immediately inform the store if you notice any damage.
- Many online stores will issue a receipt before giving the gift cards. So save these receipts as they can be used in case of emergency.
- Do not go for purchasing gift cards from unreliable or fake merchants.
- Avoid sharing money for getting gift cards. Remember that scammers use this technique to steal your details.
7. Your data is your valuable asset
Every online store asks for your personal data before you proceed with the purchase. As a matter of practice, you might provide your email address and phone number for registering yourself as a liable user.
But some online stores might penetrate deep into your privacy and ask regarding your bank information like account number, your interests, or any other identity proof.
If you find such stores, please directly walk away. You never know what they do with your confidential data. There are chances for them to sell or share your details with third parties which incur high risk. So value your data more than anything else and choose companies that protect your data.
Remember these top 7 things to do while you shop online
As we are rapidly shifting to a tech-savvy life, factors like comfort, flexibility, and convenience top our minds. These three habits greatly impact our shopping behavior and we save more time without stepping into offline storefronts.
With this digitalized emergence also comes potential threats. We have to be ultra level protective and cautious while involving in any online process. You might think it is just a click-and-buy process but there are lots of intricate details involved while we purchase products.
I hope you bookmark these 7 steps while you shop online. Just to give a small recap:
- Research about the product in multiple forums.
- Have an eye on low-sale products.
- Make payments from a private connection.
- Check the company’s refund and shipping policies.
- Compare prices of similar products.
- Before buying gift cards “be aware”.
- Your data is your valuable asset.
