Retailers Woo Online Shoppers


If there is a silver lining to the recession, it’s the increased competition that’s driving businesses in practically every industry to woo consumers with ever-escalating deals. From car makers pledging to make your new car payments if you lose your job, to online coupon sites that are actually paying consumers a share of the site’s commission on everything they buy, businesses are going all out to grab their share of the disposable cash consumers still have to spend.

That’s good news for you, the smart shopper, but it can be time consuming to separate the hype and hollow promises from the truly great deals that are out there. Online coupon and deal sites in particular offer great savings opportunities … or the potential to waste your time and money if you patronize one that falls short of its promises.

When you’re winnowing winning Web sites from the herd of hollow-promise-pledging competitors, keep this advice in mind:

* More Americans than ever are shopping online. In fact online sales rose again last year, even when nearly every other segment of the economy stayed flat or dipped. This means more businesses will hop on the information superhighway in order to stay competitive, and you’ll have even more opportunities to find great deals.

* If a coupon or deals site doesn’t do business with the stores where you shop, just how helpful is it? Sure, you may get a cheaper price from an obscure online merchant that you find on a discounter Web site, but you’ll be sacrificing the peace of mind you enjoy when you deal with retailers, merchants and businesses you already know are reliable. Plus, you also risk sacrificing quality and customer service by shopping in the realm of the unknown. Look for sites like MyDealsAndCoupons.com that has shopping arrangements with more than 1,200 top-name, recognizable merchants and retailers, including favorites such as Walmart, Target, Macy’s and Kohls.

* You can patronize one Web site for your retail purchase needs and another for online shopping needs like booking travel. But your savings will add up faster, and you’ll spend less time hunting for deals, if you find a comprehensive deal site that offers deals with both retail and online sellers, including top travel sites like Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity and Hotels.com.

* If you’re already spending money online, it makes sense to do business with a Web site that will actually reward you for your patronage. And sites are going to great lengths to reward consumers. At the forefront of the trend – sharing commission from retailers with the site’s customers.

The newly launched MyDealsAndCoupons.com actually provides members with cash rewards for every purchase they make. The site does this by giving consumers a percentage of the commission the site receives from a retailer when a shopper buys something from the retailer through his or her MyDealsAndCoupons membership. Users create a free membership and make their purchases, and 90 days later (to allow for returns or resolving any customer service issues) the site deposits the cash into the member’s account. Once the balance tops $10, the member can request a payout through cash or PayPal.

The site takes its rewards program a step further by offering members lifetime referral rewards. Whenever someone you’ve referred to the site makes a purchase using his or her membership, you get a share of the cash rewards.

Thanks to the economy, increased competition means better deals for consumers, especially savvy online shoppers. Visit www.MyDealsandCoupons.com to learn more.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 8th, 2009 and is filed under Gifts/Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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