The world of online shopping has advanced exponentially, making it easier than ever to get the items you need and want from the comfort of your own home. However, all this convenience can also mean strife for a first-time shopper, as many unavoidable pitfalls are easy to make when getting started. Whether selecting the wrong size or not researching shipping information, these mistakes often feel like learning curves without reliable guidance. Keep reading to learn about the biggest mistakes new online shoppers tend to make in 2023—so you don’t have to!
Using a Bad Shipping Service
The first mistake that most new online shoppers will make in 2023 is choosing a bad shipping service. Because online shopping has become so popular, many shipping services have been launched online; however, not all of them are good or even legit.
When shopping online, you should find a reliable shipping service before making any purchases. MyUS is the perfect example of a shop-and-ship service. Besides allowing you to shop in UK and US stores and delivering your purchases to your door, they also offer many quality features, including insurance on the products and a decent delivery time, as well as shipping to over 220 countries, including the UK, which you can learn more about at myus.com. With the wide variety of shipping services on offer, there is something available for everyone’s needs; making sure that range of delivery works for you will help you move forward with confidence.
Not Reading Reviews
One of the biggest mistakes that you could make when shopping online would be not reading reviews for the sites that you plan on buying on. As mentioned above, online shopping has become very popular over the last few years, and the industry is worth billions of dollars.
As such, many online stores have launched looking to make a profit. However, not all of these sites are legit, and many have subpar products. The last thing that you want to do is order from a site and receive a completely different product from what you ordered. This can all be avoided if you were to read through the reviews for the site.
Using the Same Password
Another big mistake that you should avoid at all costs would be using the same password for every online shop that you open an account with. It’s understandable why you would do this; it’s convenient. However, this puts you at risk and makes it easier for cybercriminals to steal your information.
Rather than using the same password, either uses a password manager offline to save your passwords or an encrypted online password manager. More importantly, never let Google save your passwords because they will be easily accessible to cybercriminals if they get access to your Google account.
Not Reading Product Reviews
Much like not reading the reviews for the sites that you plan on buying at, not reading the reviews for products that you plan on purchasing is an even bigger mistake. This is because some areas will have good reviews, which isn’t difficult to do if they pay for them.
Ensure that the product has reviews and that the reviews are authentic. Read through the product information and don’t buy from sites that have incorrect product information. If a product looks incredibly cheap, almost too good to be true, then it probably is. If you know the product is expensive but the site is selling it for next to nothing, it’s probably fake.
Buying From Any Site
Finally, the last mistake that you should avoid when shopping online in 2023 would be just buying from any site or the first site that you see. As mentioned above, some areas are fraudulent and are looking to take advantage of customers who aren’t aware.
A helpful tip would be to search for lists that rank online stores, depending on what you want to buy. For example, if you are looking to buy a laptop, search for “best online stores to buy a laptop.” These lists will be incredibly helpful in helping you identify which stores are reputable and which stores offer the best products. You can even take it a step further and search for lists that detail sites to avoid, such as “top scam online stores 2023,” and note down which sites to avoid if you happen across them.