Making your list for shopping fests? Try these tricks for better discounts

Besides some smart tricks that you can employ, there are several online services to make you a savvy shopper

During last year’s online shopping festival, Rajasthan-based Pramod Goyal shortlisted a mobile phone priced at Rs 33,000. He saw that there was an additional Rs 3,000 offered as exchange discount for an old smartphone. He did not have one, so he bought his colleague’s old mobile for Rs 3,000 and gave it in exchange. His total discount looked like this: Rs 3,000 for exchanging old mobile, Rs 5,000 as the value of the old phone that the e-retailer paid, Rs 3,000 as an upfront discount, and 10 per cent more as a discount on his bank card. He ended up getting the Rs 33,000 phone for about Rs 20,000.

Since then, he and his friends have used this method for many of their purchases – buy cheap used items and offer them in exchange to get a bigger discount. This is just one of the many ways that you can get a better discount on the upcoming online shopping festivals from big e-commerce players. If you are not as savvy as Goyal, there also are a few online services that you can make use of.

With most big retailers, including Amazon and Flipkart, keeping their sales between October 10 and October 15, these online services can not only help you get the best deal but also keep track of offers so that you don’t miss out on any. Affiliates of online retailers believe that this year’s shopping festivals are going to be much bigger than last year. “The competition has heightened in the e-commerce space after the Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart. The global brands, with deeper pockets, are vying for the bigger share of the market. We expect the sale to be four times as much as last year,” says Swati Bhargava, co-founder, Cashkaro.com.

Discounts beyond smartphones

In the past few years, most of the offers jave been smartphone-centric. The reason: It is one of the fast-moving categories online. Industry players, however, say that most retailers are broadening their portfolio this year by offering higher discounts on other categories. “Consumers can expect more discounts on consumer durables, especially large appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines. It is one of the thrust areas for retailers now as the margins on smartphones are getting thinner,” says Rohit Chugh, chief executive and founder of Logicserve Group, a company that owns CompareRaja.in, and CouponRaja.in.

Smartphones will continue to see discounts like last year. Among other categories that you can expect deeper discounts include electronics and fashion (clothes, bags, footwear, watches and other accessories).

Easier way to keep tab

Keeping track of all the deals is difficult. Therefore, many have traditionally signed up for email offers from online retailers, as well as from their retailers. But this year the action has shifted to chat messengers and social media. Affiliates of e-retailers like CashKaro now offer information about deals on WhatsApp. You can also keep a tab on the deals on Twitter, where the information is instantly posted. Many also have browser extensions that keep sending alerts. Yes, it can be disturbing to get many alerts but you can switch them on and off when needed.

Get cash back when you spend

To get more business and widen their customer base, e-commerce players offer commissions to marketing affiliates that send users to their websites. Platforms like CashKaro.com and GoPaisa.com pass on part of this commission back to shoppers. “The cashback depends on the product category and shopping website. It can range between two per cent and 35 per cent. We pass on 70-80 per cent of our commission to shoppers," says Bhargava. The cashback goes into the customer’s account on these websites and can be used for the next transaction. Some also give an option to transfer the money to bank accounts and mobile wallets.

These websites also strike exclusive deals with e-commerce players. Watch out for coupon codes on these websites that get you an additional discount, over and above what the online retailer is offering. Some offer flat cashback instead of coupon codes. If you are buying a pair of jeans on an online fashion retailer, you might get a flat cashback of say Rs 150-250.

Comparisons made easy

The primary feature of a price comparison platform is to let shoppers compare the prices of products. If you want to buy a television, you can go to websites such as PriceDekho.com, CompareRaja.in, MySmartPrice.com, Buyhatke.com and Smartprix.com. They will show you the current prices available at different online retailers and whether there are any debit/credit card or exchange offers available. Buyers can see the prices on a single page and decide where the product of their choice is the cheapest.

Use online retailers’ apps

It was more popular until last year. But this year onwards, the popularity of app-exclusive deals is falling. “E-commerce players have realised that for expensive items, shoppers prefer bigger screens,” says Chugh. The number of deals and focus must have reduced on app-only deals; some big players still offer discounts on low-value items through their apps. App helps them get more insights about customers, which helps them improve offerings. That is why such deals will remain.

Others handy tools

There are online price trackers such as Keepa which let you see historical pricing of an item on Amazon. You can see the lowest price at which an item was sold; that can tell you if the deal is worthwhile or not. Many price comparison and coupon websites also have browser extensions that let you fix alerts on price drop or when an item is close to your desired price.