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E-commerce or what is popularly called online shopping is fast taking roots in Ghana as internet penetration in the country grows and smartphone usage increases.

The convenience of shopping online makes the experience worthwhile and most Ghanaians, especially the tech-savvy and young-at-heart, are increasingly signing up to this new shopping trend.  

So How Do You Get the Best Deals?

Shopping online, in many ways, is different from buying from a traditional brick and mortar store. For one thing – it’s not a place to strike your bargain with a face-to-face negotiation, but you still get the best deals if you know your way around. So follow these 7 quick steps and make the huge savings you so desire in a smart and convenient way:

1.Download the App

Most online shopping sites give good discounts to shoppers who use their apps. So instead of using the web browser, simply download the app and shop. Shopping via the app is 2 times faster and offers instant access.

2. Set Alerts for Notifications

E-commerce platforms like Jumia offers flash sales at highly discounted prices for some products every now and then. You can take advantage of these flash sales to make huge savings on the sleek Samsung or Apple handset you have been itching to own for over a year now.

3. Take Advantage of Vouchers

Vouchers offer reasonable discounts for online shoppers. Jumia, for instance, regularly gives out hundreds of vouchers to patrons of its platforms and these vouchers could give you decent markdowns on items when shopping online.

4. Why Not Take Advantage of the Treasure Hunts?

Online shopping platforms like Jumia frequently roll out what they term ‘Treasure hunts’ during which an item is placed in a section where it normally wouldn’t be. For instance, an iPhone could be hidden in a grocery section and the price slashed by over 99 percent. If you are diligent, you can find that item of your heart, grab that huge discount and make some good savings.

5. Use Pick-up Locations

One drawback for online shopping is the huge delivery that shoppers have to sometime pay for their orders. But there is a way around this – the pick-up points. Whilst most shoppers are not aware of this, there are indeed pick-up points operated by some online shopping platforms like Jumia. When shopping online, try to take advantage of these pick-up points to get free deliveries of your items. Jumia, for instance has 8 pick-up points in Accra alone. Namely Spintex, Roman Ridge, Makola, Tema, Ring Road, Legon, East Legon and the Labadi Pick-Up Stations. Decide to receive your order at these pick-up points and save yourself the delivery fee.

6. Clear Your Browser History

One smart trick to get good discounts and deals whilst shopping online is to clear all the cache items in your browser. Most online shopping platforms are more likely to give good discounts for first-time shoppers and you can spoof the system by simply clearing all your browser history so you appear to the system as if you are a first-time shopper.

 7. Know When to Shop

There are certain times or particular periods within the day that most online shopping platforms offer some special discount promos. Take Jumia’s ‘Happy Hour’ and ‘App Rush’ promos for instance – these are limited times within the day when the platform throws in huge discounts for shoppers. You can get that price cut for that Dell or HP laptop when you buy it during a ‘Happy Hour’ or an ‘App Rush’.

Combine these smart tricks effectively anytime you go online to shop and you could end up buying your favourite item at half the price.