Is taking online purchases back too much hassle for you?

Is taking online purchases back too much hassle for you?

Online shopping may seem like an easy answer to our busy scehdules, but there is an average £107 worth of unused purchases lying around our homes. 

Collectively this equates to unused goods bought on the web, totalling a whopping £5bn, according to a new survey of the nation’s online shopping habits by the Money Advice Service. 

The average online shopper is currently spending £948 a year on items including the latest gadgets, objects to spruce up their home and the hottest fashion trends – but with £107 lying around unused, a total of 11% of their annual spend is simply collecting dust and going to waste. If the items were returned or sold on, the cash could provide a nice boost for many Brits’ savings pots or be spent on something they really want.

Top 5 items purchased in last year and not used

Percentage of respondents

Clothes

53%

Electrical items

24%

DVDs / Blu-rays

23%

Household items

18%

Music

14%

Reluctance to return

Fifty nine per cent of online shoppers said they were less likely to return items purchased online. Of these, 83% said it was ‘too much hassle’ to go to the effort of posting the item back. An additional 13% said they ‘tend to forget’ whilst one in ten said they simply don’t have the time.

Responding to the findings, Jackie Spencer, a money expert at the Money Advice Service, says:

“We all make a wrong purchase from time-to-time, and it’s so easy to do this online, especially when clothes shopping. But hoarding unused purchases at home, rather than returning them when you can, makes no financial sense - it’s the equivalent  of sitting on a pile of burning cash.

“So if you have unloved, new purchases around the house, return them if you can, or get busy selling them online to generate some extra cash for a rainy day. You’ll feel great knowing you have saved money, and freed up some valuable space in your home.”

TOP TIPS FOR SAVVY SHOPPERS

If you’re a self-confessed shopaholic, try the Cutback Calculator to see how much spare cash you could find by being a savvier spender. For example, if you spend £20 online a month on average - buying clothes or gifts etc - that equates to £240 a year. Leaving just a fraction of that value unused at home is simply throwing money away!

Special offers can be a great way to save money, but not always - sometimes you can end up paying more than you normally would. Make sure you work out whether a deal really is as good as it looks, and if a '2-for-1' or '3 for £1' offers will actually save you money.

When buying online, stay alert for warning signs and take extra care if you’re buying from a company that’s not well known – it’s not as safe as buying from the big, reliable household names. If you can’t find an address and contact details, be very cautious. More advice at: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/shop-safely-online

Online discount vouchers can be a great way to save on shopping and eating out. But beware the enticing offers – especially for groups - which actually tempt you to buy something you didn’t need in the first place, or spend a lot more than you intended. 


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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