Shopping Hacks that will save you money.

When shopping online everyone loves a good shopping hack to save them money and we've prepared some of the best shopping hacks around that are guaranteed to save you some money on your next shopping spree. The 3 shopping hacks below should work for nearly every retailer, so let's get saving.

Sign up for the retailer's newsletter.

The easiest one of all, and the one that nearly every single retailer has on their website. Those annoying pop-ups and messages when you visit a shopping site to sign up for their newsletter actually have some benefit for you. When you sign up to a site's newsletter, they nearly always send you a discount code on your first order - Research from Vouchertoday found that 87/100 brands they tested, gave a discount code on your first order.

Follow Social Channels

Another easy one, follow the retailer's social channels - Twitter & Facebook are the usual one's brands give away free stuff and usually discount codes for their website or in-store. Fast food brands usually alert people to free food in the mornings for commuters as well.

Create a "Shopping" Email Address

Yep, it's an evil hack for businesses and their analytics but great for consumers. Gmail & Yahoo allow you to create a new email for completely free. Always have a "back-up" email address that just forwards your backup's email's to your primary email address. Simple! Now you will get 2x New Customer discounts and 2x discounts on every promo code they offer. You can also create a 10-minute email address if you don't mind missing the emails - not really advised.

Wait for the After-Holidays

Everyone knows, wait for Black Friday and grab a deal. But no one really thinks that after Black Friday there's usually better discounts on Cyber Monday and in general as retailers try to dump stock that didn't sell during the holidays.

Be Cheeky. Ask for a discount.

Nearly every online retailer these days has an "Online Chat" bubble - the thing that annoyingly popups every time you visit. When you're shopping, and just before checkout, be cheeky and ask for a discount on your shop. You have the retailer pretty much over a barrel, they'll be happy to discount your purchase - especially as they can see you're on the "Checkout" page and ready to go.

Add to Basket - Walk away.

When you add something to your basket - the retailer can see what's been added and can usually contact you via email. All you have to do with this shopping hack is add the products you're wanting to buy to your basket, head to the checkout page and close the browser. Just make sure you login beforehand! After around 2-3 days, look out for the retailers email to your inbox with a juicy discount code for your purchase. Don't go back on their website until they send you a discount.

Use a Chrome Coupon Extension.

When shopping online, you can get a handy coupon plugin to try and save money. You may have to be using Chrome and on your laptop/desktop machine to be able to utilize these plugins. I have stopped recommending Honey's plugin due to Privacy issues, but you can search the Chrome Extension Store, and download another plugin that does the same.

Use a Credit Card

Please. Please. Please. Use your credit card for any "Shifty" looking shopping experiences. Just make sure to pay off your credit card at the end of the month. When you shop with a credit card, you can typically claim the money back from your bank - no questions asked - this way you can get your money back if your item doesn't arrive or is damaged and the retailer will not replace.

Refer to your friends.

Most brands have a referral scheme which you can easily send to your friends/family. Also, if your friends and family are happy for you to use their email on your next purchase you can usually save 10% on your next order, and get 10% off your order using their email accounts. Sweet! (Some retailers monitor addresses now as a lot of families started doing this in the same household)