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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wilfrid Laurier chapter.

Online shopping has skyrocketed due to COVID-19, and, with the holidays approaching along with the second wave, it can only mean one thing: more online shopping is to come! This is kind of awesome though, as, for the first time ever, you’re expected not to leave your house and, even better, there are a ton of great methods to saving some money when shopping online! This means you can get all of your holiday shopping done with more ease and affordability than ever before. Here are some tips and tricks to make it happen.

1. Download the Chrome Extension “Honey”

Honey is a Chrome extension designed to find the best coupon codes to save you money at checkout. Scouring the internet for coupon codes and going through the ‘trial and error’ phase of their application can be super annoying, so Honey completes the whole process for you and ultimately applies the code with the most savings. Basically, Honey does all the hard work to make sure you save money. Plus, if you spend a certain amount of money on retailers partnered with Honey, Honey will give you a choice of gift cards for places such as Amazon and Indigo in return. It’s literally free money!

2. Promotional Emails

Another great way to save some money while online shopping is to sign up for promotional emails. Most online retailers provide a discount solely for signing up for promotions. On top of that, they’ll send you reminders for upcoming promotions and even exclusive saving opportunities such as free shipping!

3. Curbside Pick-up

Speaking of shipping, stores that offer curbside pick-up provide a great opportunity to skip the shipping costs. A huge plus to this is that most stores don’t even require you to leave your car, they bring your purchase directly to you. Plus, with this option, you can still use coupon codes (this is great because a lot of the time online retailers only permit one discount per purchase).

4. Abandon Your Basket

Often times, we are more easily persuaded or more inclined to buy things online that we don’t really need. A great way to avoid purchasing unnecessary things is to put everything into your cart and come back to it either later that day or the next. This will give you the opportunity to decide if you really need the purchase or not, which can save you from a lot of impulse purchases and therefore a lot of cash.

These tips and tricks will definitely save you money this holiday season and make sure you get everyone on your shopping list checked off most efficiently. Plus, with all the money you save, you can always put it towards a little holiday treat for yourself (you know, to reward yourself for all your hard work).

Tamara Jefak

Wilfrid Laurier '22

Tamara is in her third year at Wilfrid Laurier University and is pursuing a double major in English and Communication Studies. Alongside writing, she enjoys traveling, sparkling water, and dancing in the kitchen while cooking with her roommates.
Chelsea Bradley

Wilfrid Laurier '21

Chelsea finished her undergrad with a double major in Biology and Psychology and a minor in Criminology. She loves dogs way too much and has an unhealthy obsession with notebooks and sushi. You can find her quoting memes and listening to throwbacks in her spare - okay basically all - her time. She joined Her Campus in the Fall of 2019 as an editor, acted as one of two senior editors for the Winter 2020 semester and worked alongside Rebecca as one of the Campus Correspondents for the 2020-2021 year!