I’m a Consumer Expert: Use This Trick Before Your Next Online Purchase
Enjoy online shopping and want to shave a few dollars off your next purchase? Jim Wang, founder of Wallet Hacks, has a simple trick to help you do exactly that.
With a B.S. in economics from Carnegie Mellon, Wang is a consumer expert known for helping busy Americans save money, build wealth and avoid scams. He introduced us to the concept of “abandoned cart recovery.” Here’s how it works.
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Abandoned Cart Recovery
Abandoned cart recovery is an e-commerce strategy many retailers use after a consumer adds an item to their cart, never checks out and then closes the window. A couple of days later, consumers are likely to receive emails with discount codes or coupons they can apply to the “abandoned” item. These discounts are designed to push consumers over the finish line if they were hesitating about the purchase.
Teresa Britton, owner and editor of MomsWhoSave, explained that placing an item in your cart and closing the tab without buying it automatically triggers a retailer’s online marketing system. If the item hasn’t been purchased within one or two days, the retailer often sends you an email reading something to the effect of, “Did you forget something?” If it doesn’t appear in your inbox, try checking your spam folder.
However, retailers can only track online shoppers who are logged in, so make sure you register for an account. The trick doesn’t work if you are shopping as a guest.
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Wang explained that the retailers most likely to offer discounts via abandoned cart recovery are those selling products and services with very high margins — in other words, products that produce notable profits for each unit sold after all operating costs are deducted. For instance, your odds are better (though not impossible) of receiving coupons on digital products like video games than on physical merchandise like clothing and jewelry.
Britton also added that smaller, specialty retailers offer discounts more frequently than larger retailers because each sale counts more for them.
And it may go without saying that, because of the one- to two-day lag time, this trick is not advisable if you’re on a time crunch.
Happy shopping. Go forth and save.
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This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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