Marketing Pro Reveals 4 Cunning Ways to Save Money While Shopping Online
Including a devious way to find the coupon codes from Facebook ads
Including a devious way to find the coupon codes from Facebook ads
Every secret used by online retailers to incentivize sales can be exploited to save you money.
Below I’m going to teach you 4 cunning methods I use to save while shopping online. Most of which you’ve probably never heard of.
How to use a ‘one-time’ coupon code, multiple times
Most companies allow the use of a coupon code, only once per customer. This can make it expensive when returning to buy that same product as a repeat purchaser.
e.g. “First-time buyers save 10% with coupon code ‘NEW10’
Although some companies authenticate by postal address, most base the use of a coupon against your email address.
By using a ‘+’ in your email followed by any word, you can appear as a new customer during the checkout process, get your discount and still receive the order confirmation email. Just like magic.
e.g. youremail+anyword@hotmail.com
Try it, I use this method on various online retailers weekly.
Facebook coupon hunting — using ads
This is a devious method and one I don’t feel guilty sharing.
Ultimately, the more you buy from these retailers using rules they’ve set themselves, the more businesses in this struggling economy can survive.
Let’s begin…
There’s a site called Facebook Ad Library that will show you every active Facebook ad. It’s a little-known tool for marketing insiders.
Just type in a brand you like and you’ll be able to search for their ads.
Then you just need to click the button for ‘all ads’.
Although I’m using ‘Ugly Drinks’ in this example again, I’m not affiliated or paid by them in any way.
This will show you all active Facebook ads for the brand of your choice and if you look closely, you may be able to see what coupon codes they’re offering new customers.
This one is 40% off — nice.
Simply pair this with tip one (above) and you’ll be able to recycle these discounts for as long as their codes stay active.
Entry/Exit pop-ups
According to studies, 77.13% of online shoppers abandon their cart during the checkout process. That’s around 3 in every 4 customers. Ouch.
Retailers incentivise a lower abandonment rate by placing an entry or exit modal on their site, packed with offers.
Entry pop-up offers
First things first, you need to go incognito.
Once this is done, you can visit the retailer of your choice. The reason for going incognito is that if you’re ‘cookied’ already, the deal may not show for you.
I went to Will & Bear to look at a hat I’ve been too scared to buy for a long time.
After hovering around on their page, it offers me 10% off — don’t mind if I do.
This is called an entry modal, an offer for new customers upon their entry into the site.
Exit-intent pop-ups
Exit-intent pop-ups are the opposite.
They are pop-ups that get triggered as you scroll up, or move your cursor away from the site, cart or the checkout process.
They usually have some attractive offer of a freebie or 10% discount.
Try flicking your cursor up and down in the cart (as if you’re about to leave) to trigger any potential discounts at your favorite online retailers.
Abandoned cart or checkout emails
The final method is to start the checkout process, enter your email in (so they know who was interested) and just before you pay, pull a fast one and ‘x-out’ of the tab you’re shopping on.
This will trigger the websites potential offers and you’ll be put on an email list. This may take up to 48 hours for the retailer to email you.
Here’s an example of one email I got today from Will & Bear (mentioned above). Often these emails contain very specific discounts for the products you were looking to buy.
The incentive to ‘complete’ the checkout process is one that usually saves you some money.
On its own, it may seem like it’s not worth the effort, but extrapolate these small methods across every purchase you make all year and you’ll be saving hundreds, if not thousands.