“There’s nothing better than online shopping in your PJ’s with a glass of wine and the kids asleep!”

They say the quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her. So how do we enjoy the wonderful high of buying stuff without exposing our craziest side to the world? My meditation for rejuvenation is ‘Online Shopping’! With a sea of sales and stunning designs, fashion at a discount and fantastic bargains, shopping on the net has become the fastest growing and most useful trend in the recent years. You can purchase anything you want, whenever you want, and have it all delivered to your doorstep leaving you feeling like a queen! A great contributing factor to the online boom is the growing craze for smartphones, Ipads and the like. With shopping sites expanding at an astonishing rate you need a few smart tricks up your sleeve to make sure your experience is reliable, refreshing and rewarding.

Do the research:

First off, know what you are going to buy. A fabulous way to find out all you need to know about any product is online shopping forums. Not only will they give you vital reviews, they are also a great way to get clued in on the best available deals and offers. Email newsletters, magazines and blogs help you keep track of competitions and sales on sites, new designs and amazing offers. Oh and another thing, when you don’t want a particular newsletter anymore, just unsubscribe instead of reporting as spam- that’s just plain hurtful to the business owners.

Clear and careful choices:

You are responsible for what you put in your shopping cart. Investigate the intricate details carefully, like the color, pattern and number of items you order. Most of the sites have drop down lists with choices, and a lot of other stuff written in small print. If you are a 100% sure of what you have ordered you will definitely get exactly what you wanted!

Shipping shenanigans:

Remember there is absolutely nothing called free online shipping! The cost they pretend to cut is actually absorbed into the price of the item. It’s just a smart marketing move to attract innocent customers. But we’re smarter than that right- do the necessary research and find comparative prices for everything you buy. Beside the shipping cost also consider time for delivery, return policies etc. Delivery usually gets delayed around festival seasons like Christmas and Easter, so account for that in your plans…

Shopping is our secret passion and our safety blanket. Like Carrie (from Sex & the City) once said ‘I like my money right where I can see it: hanging in my closet!”