October 23, 2009
Op Ed By the ZippyCart Shopping Carts Content Team
As ecommerce traffic starts to spike getting closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you will see almost every site promoting their holiday deals. Cyber Monday has only been around since 2005 when Shop.org created the promotion, but despite the name, it is not the most popular day for shopping. Black Friday is, in fact, still the most popular day because people want to start looking for those deals right away after Thanksgiving. With all of the excitement around shopping, you should know that some deals that sound too good to be true might actually not be true. Below we have laid out some tips on how to help you shop smarter online so you can put a real deal in your shopping cart.
Hunt for Deals — There are so many great coupon sites including the new Ask.com deals engine, where you can search for coupons at almost any online retailer you can imagine. Check out places like CoolSavings.com, CouponMom.com or RetailMeNot.com to browse coupons online. CyberMonday.com even has a site where you can go and check out all of the online deals and learn how to maximize your savings by stacking deals and coupons.
Ensure the Ecommerce Site and Your Computer Are Safe — Not every ecommerce site you shop at is safe and secure, so you should take a few minutes to research and make sure that you are purchasing from a reputable merchant. Look at things like their return policy, shipping information, privacy policy, and terms and conditions. Taking just a little extra time to ensure you do not purchase from a shady site will save you future headaches. Also remember to keep track of all the holiday purchases you make just in case something does go wrong or someone needs to return it. Not only should you make sure their site is safe, you should check that you have the most recent security updates and anti-virus software on your computer.
Beware of Impostor Sites — Just because it looks like the brand you want, does not mean it is. Many fraudsters try to put up replica type sites that mimic the real site to try and lure visitors into giving their information. So make sure you can find proper contact information like address and phone number so you can check that the site is reputable. Typically it is easy to tell because if something does not seem right about the sit,e there is probably a good reason for it. Start shopping early so you can take your time to ensure you are safe and at the correct site.
Hopefully these tips will help you shop safe for Black Friday and Cyber Monday so you can have a positive experience that nets you a lot of great deals. If you are looking to give back this year, and get an amazing present at the same time, then we recommend one of our favorite ecommerce sites, TOMS Shoes. TOMS Shoes is one of the coolest brands around because for every pair of shoes someone buys, a second pair of shoes is donated to help someone in need, typically in very poor third world countries. It is one of the few ecommerce sites where you can get a perfect gift for yourself or someone in your life and still feel great about giving back.
Scott is an avid fan of all things ecommerce. His claim to fame is that he "puts the Zip in ZippyCart." He considers himself the world-wide number one reader of TechCrunch, C|Net, and The Ecommerce Times. Scott has worked in the SEO industry for many years, but found himself always shifting his focus to review sites and ecommerce blogs. When we decided to start the ZippyCart Ecommerce news, Scott was an obvious fit. He handles most of our OpEds as he is a very opinionated guy. Scott is also our Twitter guy, so don't hesitate to send him a tweet if you see him online.
