Those who regularly shop online might have noticed a growing number of friendly salespeople trying to enhance (or interrupt) their shopping experience.
But you might want to hold on a second before you close that online chat window, as it could help you secure a bargain. Research from Which? has found that you can cut the cost of your online shopping by haggling through online chat services.
While many will pop up as soon as you click on to a retailer’s website, some may only be found through the ‘contact us’ section on the site so will require a little more legwork on your part.
Here are Which’s top tips for landing that deal.
Build a rapport
Build a rapport before you dive in. It’ll help you close a deal if the salesperson likes you first. Ask questions, be polite and thank the salesperson for their responses. Generally speaking, you should only ask for a discount after you’ve asked questions about the product. According to Which?, using a line like this proved particularly successful: "I'm interested in buying this but it's a fair bit out of my price range. Is there any way I can get a discount?"
Don't accept immediately if you are offered a discount. You should hold out for a better deal and that includes giving the impression that you will walk away if necessary. Make it clear that you’re shopping around for the best deal and you’ll buy today for the right price.
Search for discount codes before you start
Discount codes aren’t always displayed on retailers’ websites. In fact, most of the discounts given to Which? couldn’t be found online.
Search for retailer’s discount codes before you start haggling on the likes of VoucherCodes.co.uk or MyVoucherCodes. Even if they’ve expired, it’ll give you some idea of how much the retailer will be willing to slice off the price.
[SPOTLIGHT]When Which? haggled with Dell, it mentioned a 10% discount code that had recently expired and Dell’s salesperson agreed to honour the deal.
It’s best to target items that are already on sale, because there probably won’t be as much demand for them.
Keep schtum
When negotiating with any retailer, silence is powerful. With web chat it’s that bit easier because you don’t need to perfect your poker face to get results.
Keep the window open but try to go a few minutes without typing. The salesperson will stick around until you’ve left the chat. At the very least, they’ll ask if you’re still there before ending the conversation.
Which? stayed silent when talking to a Bon Marche salesperson that said that it couldn’t offer a discount and within minutes it was revealed that the item in question was in a 20% off sale that very weekend. After a few moments more silence, Bon Marche offered a 10% off code on the spot.
Even if you can’t get a discount it’s worth asking about other perks like free express delivery.
Put to the test
Which? tried online chat haggling with a number of retailers, with a variety of results, detailed below.
|
Online shop |
Result |
|
Allbeauty |
No discount |
|
Appliances Direct |
No discount |
|
Boden |
20% off £189 coat |
|
Body Shop |
No discount |
|
BonMarche |
20% discount on £40 coat |
|
Carphone Warehouse |
No discount |
|
ChainReactionCycles |
Instructions on how to get 10% discount voucher |
|
Cotsworld Outdoor |
No discount |
|
Dell |
10% discount on £1,350 laptop |
|
Dyson |
No discount |
|
Feelunique |
No discount |
|
Lenovo |
5% discount on £900 laptop |
|
Liz Earle |
No discount |
|
Mac Cosmetics UK |
No discount |
|
Matalan |
£10 off voucher code |
|
Missguided |
No discount |
|
Nike |
20% discount on £108 trainers |
|
Not on the High Street |
No discount |
|
O2 |
£142 discount on 24 month phone contract |
|
Perfume Shop |
No discount |
|
Schuh |
10% discount on £110 shoes |
|
Wiggle |
No discount |
Source: Which?
Even if you’re shopping from a retailer which didn’t offer a discount to Which?, try negotiating anyway. You never know what might happen.
For more tips on haggling in person or over the phone, read How to haggle and save a fortune.
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