I’m embarrassed to admit online shopping is one of my pandemic coping mechanisms. In the last eight months, I’ve ordered craft supplies from Scrappers’ Cove, masks from Bamboobino, foodie delights from Well Seasoned, and cosmetics from Trinny London. If I’m going to shop too much, I take comfort knowing my purchases support independently owned, female-led businesses.

Online grocery shopping also keeps me busy. I have a teenage son who loves produce so we constantly need fresh fruit and vegetables! Ordering online and then picking up is much safer and easier than schlumping a shopping cart around a crowded store.

I’ve also purchased frivolous things online. Every woman needs a collection of 3.5-inch Star Wars action figures, right?

My purchases have kept me entertained, caffeinated, safe, well-fed, and feeling beautiful, with an invisible side order of stress relief, so I consider that money well spent.

Thrill of the Bargain

Bargain hunting adds to the thrill when it comes to online shopping. My mum raised me with a thrifty shopping mantra: on sale, in the bonus size, with a coupon! This trifecta of savings was our ongoing inside joke. Although Mum passed away several years ago, I still share my bargain hunting successes with her in spirit.

Of course, online shopping makes bargain shopping even easier with promotion codes, subscriber perks, BOGO deals, and end-of-season sales.

Consumerism and Environmental Impact

Black Friday has become the ultimate mecca of online shopping bargains. Yet, the excessive consumerism is worrying and the environmental impact is staggering. This makes me conflicted about Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday shopping.

The sheer volume of goods on offer makes it hard to shop only for the things on your shopping list. This is one of those moments when savvy marketers can overrun our self-restraint with a compelling sales pitch. Add in the promotions, and it becomes increasingly hard to resist.

I worry about the environmental impacts of online shopping. I do my best to reuse and recycle the shipping boxes, packing peanuts, and bubble wrap but some packaging inevitably goes straight to landfill. Then, there’s the carbon footprint of the planes, trains, and automobiles that bring packages to my door. Maybe I should look into buying carbon offsets?

Despite the risk of overspending and the environmental impacts, online shopping is still the safest way to shop right now.

Online Shopping Tips

As the holiday gift giving season approaches and we’re all about to do more online shopping than usual, I thought it might be helpful to share some online shopping tips:

• Shop mindfully: When it’s time to shop, try to shop mindfully. Prepare a list of your needs and wants in advance and think about how much money you have to spend. That preparation may help you resist promotions and take advantage of any online shopping bargains you find.
• Pre-shop: If you frequently shop at certain retailers, consider building a wish list or adding items to your shopping cart in advance of the next sale or promotion code. I do this regularly with Reitmans as they have frequent sales; my favorite is their time-limited, 40% off everything (almost) sale.
• Empty shopping cart: Be alert to retailers that empty your shopping cart after a certain amount of time has passed. You might also lose the items in your shopping cart if you accidentally close your browser tab. Oops! You don’t want your pre-shopping efforts to go to waste. Work around this issue by creating an account on the website.
• Free shipping: Know that free shipping isn’t really free. If the retailer offers free shipping, then the cost of shipping is built into the product price. Sometimes the same product plus shipping is cheaper on another site. Also, remember that free shipping is used as an incentive to get you to buy more. For example, you might go to the site wanting one $25 item but you end up spending $75 to get free shipping. Ask yourself if you really need those extra items.

Stretch Your Budget

Whether money is tight or you love the thrill of bargain hunting, there are lots of techniques you can use to get more for your money while online shopping, such as:

• Loyalty programs: Certain brands offer loyalty programs where you get points or discounts based on your purchases. Often, points can be redeemed for free products or you’ll get a deeper discount next time you shop.
• Seek promotions: If you’re online shopping, retailers won’t always make the extra discounts or promotions obvious. Take time to read the fine print on the digital flyer, check your most recent email from the company, or look on their social media feeds. Often, that extra effort will help you find promotion codes or gift-with-purchase codes to maximize your shopping perks.
• Pick your currency: If you are shopping online with a retailer outside your home country, then look to see what currencies they offer. By default, Canadian customers are typically shown US dollars but sometimes the exchange rate is better if you switch to Australian dollars or British pounds.
• Import fees: Be alert to import charges including brokerage fees, duties, and taxes owing. If this is your first time online shopping with a company outside of Canada, you may be surprised to discover the final price far exceeds the purchase price. The courier company will require you to pay these fees before your package is delivered. The duty varies depending on the country of origin and the product category. As a general rule, I assume anything I import will cost me 30% to 50% more than the purchase price. If you want a more precise calculation, use this calculator from the Canada Border Services Agency.

Protect Your Money

While online shopping is convenient, it’s also an easy way to have a scammer steal your credit card information. This can result in identity theft and wreak havoc with your credit score. Take time to protect your money with these tips:

• Stay safe: Be alert to sketchy retailers. There are lots of spammy websites filled with malware out there. Examine the URL closely. Does it look like a legitimate web address or are there extra letters or punctuation before the dot com? Does the website address start with HTTPS? HTTP sites are more vulnerable and you should avoid sharing personal information with them, especially credit card details. Look for a contact information page and search Google Maps to see if their physical address is real. If you hover over (don’t click!) an email address does it match the website address? Check social media to see if the links on the company profile match the website you’re investigating. These are just a few of the quick tests you can do to stay safe when online shopping.
• Make secure payments: You’ll almost always need a credit card to shop online. Some retailers will use PayPal, Verified By Visa, Shopify, or a similar system to secure your credit card information. Look for secure payment sites and be careful not to authorize ongoing payments.
• Returns: One of the trickiest parts of online shopping is when the items arrive at your door and they’re not right. You might receive the wrong item or the wrong quantity. I find clothing and shoes really tricky as it’s easy and frustrating to get the wrong size. Returns are a huge hassle as you’ve got to package them up, go to the post office, stand in line, and, sometimes, pay return postage. Check those return policies before buying, just in case.

Shop as a Global Citizen

While I’m making best efforts to curb my pandemic stress shopping, I will continue to shop online for years to come. To make that opportunity sustainable, I keep these guiding principles in mind:

• Shop locally: Even if you’re online shopping, you can still shop locally. 2020 is a make-or-break year for many small and independent businesses so spend your money in your community, if you can.
• Pick up your order: If you are shopping locally, arrange to pick up your order if that makes sense. One quick trip out to scoop up several packages might have less environmental impact than a series of delivery trucks at your front door.
• Buy bulk: The environmental impacts of online shopping can also be reduced if you place fewer, larger orders. Buy big to minimize the number of shipments. For example, when I buy my tea from Murchies, I purchase the equivalent of about 500 tea bags: that’s roughly a 100-day supply for my family. Yes, we drink a lot of tea!
• Find a community: Super fans of many brands gather in private groups on social media. If there are brands you love, consider joining their communities to get insider information and build online friendships with  fellow fans. One of my favorites is the body-positive, gender inclusive, fashion loving people in Trinny Tribe Canada, for fans of Trinny London’s cosmetics and skincare.

As an added bonus, incoming online shopping emails are a great opportunity to declutter your data. One of my most popular blog posts, Black Friday Unsubscribe Bonanza, talks about how you can use the onslaught of emails to clean up your inbox.