With the festive season about to descend upon us and online marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon.in, Snapdeal and Shopclues are all geared up for their annual festival sales starting the first week of October; the customer is in for a treat with discounts on brands across categories.
But how to get the most out of Diwali sales and earn Extra Cashback/Rewards on offers by Amazon.in, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and others?
In order to make you sail through the sales this festive season, here's Swati Bhargava – Co-Founder,
CashKaro.com sharing 10 tips & ways to maximize your savings and what you need to do, that will make your shopping convenient:
1. A head start for better odds : When it comes to festive sales, there is such a thing called an ‘early advantage’. Starting early will get you ahead of the millions of users who will be looking for deals on the same products as you. Online festival news and blogs will keep you updated on the best offers so you never miss out. Also, checking deals early in the morning will ensure that you grab them before they run out.
2. Register yourself with shopping sites and update Apps : With the festive season just around the corner, most online shopping portals have already slashed prices across different categories. If you want to stay in the loop about these offers, your best bet would be to get registered with these websites and receive regular newsletters. This way, you might find a deal or two that you can’t turn down! If you're using an app, check if you have the latest version of the respective marketplace's app. Remember, buying from an app might give you more discounts and instant deals.
3. Be a well-researched shopper: Being a smart shopper who has done thorough research will go a long way. This will prepare you and help you take smart buying decisions. Being well prepared is a must if you want to strike exceptional deals, especially on expensive products such as mobile phones, furniture, laptops, etc.
4. Rely on Cashback sites for Extra Cashback & Rewards: With the new DIPP policy retailers this season may not be able to offer huge discounts as compared to last years. Hence a cashback site such as CashKaro.com helps you get that Extra Cashback making your festival shopping experience much more delightful. Shopping via these sites will add to your savings with EXTRA CASHBACK which is paid above the discounts offered. So just visit your favorite retailers via CashKaro.com and earn Cashback on everything!
5. Pre-prepare a wish list: Haphazard, spur of the moment shopping will not do you good when you’re buying gifts and products. You will just end up spending too much and not getting your money’s worth. Being unprepared is a bad idea. So, first things first – make a list. And, it won’t hurt to check it twice. Know what you want to buy and then find the best deals on it.
6. Have you banking details on your fingertips: Forgetting your passwords just when you are about to checkout and complete your shopping journey will just be disappointing and time consuming. The trick here is to memorize them. If it’s too hard to memorize all those figures, then just write it down on a piece of paper that you positively tear up and destroy later.
7. Check your debit/credit card balance: Seems obvious, but there's no telling how many hot deals you can lose out on just because of deficient balance. Make sure that your credit card is completely paid up and your debit card has enough cash before you start shopping.
8. Utilize debit/credit card reward points: The points that you earn on your debit/credit cards can be redeemed in the form of gift vouchers. Why not send these vouchers to family and friends this year? You could also send gifts such as handbags, perfumes and more.
9. Be mindful of return policies: Going through the entire list of return policies can be tedious when all you want to do is shop. But, this will come in handy at a later stage if you need to return any of the products that you buy. So, when you’re about to close a deal, check the return and exchange policies instead of just being swayed by the bling discounts.
10. Finally, proceed with patience: Bear in mind – Glitches, crashes and frozen check-out pages will all come your way when you shop during sales. Sometimes, the deals you had your eyes on will run out before you get a chance to click on the ‘buy now’ tab. But, remain calm. Continue to check items off your list and you are bound to come across a similar or even better deal.
Guest Author
Swati Bhargava is the Co-founder of CashKaro.com- India’s largest Cashback & Coupons site. She is honored amongst top 10 women entrepreneurs in the Indian E-commerce Industry and
is also an acclaimed Social Media influencer. Swati is an alumnus of the London School of Economics(LSE) and has worked at Goldman Sachs London within the Investment Banking division & at the Executive Office for 5 years before starting UK Cashback business Pouring Pounds along with her husband & Co-Founder, Rohan. The couple launched CashKaro.com in April 2013 and pioneered the concept of cashback in India.
