Have you ever considered shopping online to save money?

If not, maybe you should.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that sophisticated shoppers shop online for low prices, better offers, and convenience.

Top 3 Reasons You Should Shop Online

1. Shopping online helps you maintain your budget: Brick-and-mortar stores are laced with deception and hidden gimmicks to entice you to spend money. Stores are commonly laid out with expensive products placed at eye level so you’re more likely to notice them. Look at the lower and higher shelves—you’ll often see the lower-cost items there. According to TIME, retailers often draw you in with enticing scents and offer you free samples and food to cloud your judgment and to keep you in the store longer. The longer you stay, the more (they hope) you will pay. You avoid all the drama and save money when you shop online. You don’t have to worry about being tricked into busting your budget by buying something that wasn’t on your shopping list.
2. Online coupons and promotions are plentiful and more cost effective than in-store coupons and promotions: According to Today Money, clipping coupons and using them at a brick-and-mortar store can be costly and time consuming. As Investopedia notes, a coupon is an advertising device retailers use to lure shoppers into their stores to spend money. If you take the bait, you could end up spending more money buying products you do not need for the sake of the coupon. Here’s an example: You have a coupon for frozen pizza. You love pizza and don’t care about what the brand name is. The coupon requires you buy one in order to get one free, which is a 50 percent savings. Do you really need the extra pizza? And what if the store brand pizza is less expensive, but you don’t buy it because your coupon is for a name brand? Using coupons online is not as complicated and is more cost effective than physically using them in stores. You tend to avoid buying things you don’t need when you shop online. Shop with a list and use a coupon aggregator such as RetailMeNot or Coupons.com to find coupons for the things you need to buy.
3. Clicking a mouse is less expensive than starting an engine: Beyond spending your hard-earned cash, you spend energy, gas, and valuable time shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. At first glance, you might think it’s easier to run to the store to pick up a few things instead of shopping online, but look a little closer. Think about all the time you spend looking for a parking space, driving around town comparison shopping, or going from store to store to get a deal. How much time do you have to waste? Shopping online is more efficient. You choose when to shop, and you are not restricted to store hours. You can do all of your comparison shopping with your fingers and save gas. And in order to remain competitive and encourage online shopping, many online retailers offer free shipping.

Online retailers are not limited by time and space. When you shop online, you gain access to a variety of products and a world of saving opportunities. Save money and shop online for the best deals and to avoid the high costs of in-store shopping.

Image source: Flickr

This article was syndicated and originally appeared on the CESI Debt Solutions website.