Online shopping is growing more than ever as people appreciate the convenience and savings. Products are typically cheaper online compared to in-stores, but how does a shopper make sure they’re getting the best deals when online shopping?
It could take hours of browsing the internet to look for the best deals on a particular item. However, using a shopping assistant like Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy) makes the process much easier and more efficient. This is an extension and app that will finds coupon codes and rewards you for shopping with participating local merchants. For everything you need to know about Capital One Shopping, keep reading.
Capital One Shopping Features
Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension that acts as an online shopping price comparison tool. The tool tells you whether the item you are viewing is available elsewhere for less. In addition, the extension will search the internet for coupon and promo codes and automatically tests them for validity.
Some of the extension’s notable features include:
- Price drop notification.
- Capital One Shopping will track the things you search for and purchase online. If the price of the product drops, the extension will let you know so you can take advantage of the deal. If you have already purchased the item then some credit cards and retailers offer price protection, which means they will reimburse you for the amount you overpaid.
- Reward credits.
- Link your credit cards to Capital One Shopping to access Local Offers. The company partners with local merchants to give users rewards when you shop. For example, 5% back in Capital One Shopping Credits at a partner eatery. All you have to do is activate the offer and pay for the meal with your linked card. Use your rewards to buy gift cards to popular merchants, like Barnes & Noble, eBay, Groupon, Sephora and Staples.
- Universal search.
- You can search directly on the Capital One Shopping website if you want to do comparison shopping for a particular item. It will search its database to locate a possible discount and direct you to the purchase page. Use this feature when you’re shopping in-store by downloading the Capital One Shopping app to your phone and scanning the product barcode.
- Synchronization.
- Capital One Shopping syncs your data between the web browser and the phone app, so you can easily search for products, view your search history and add items to your watchlist from both.
Capital One Shopping Pricing
Capital One Shopping is free to use. There is no cost to install the extension and app, and no monthly fees or additional charges.
Capital One Shopping Limitations
Before you download the Capital One Shopping extension, you should keep in mind the following:
- It may not find the lowest price available.
- There is no way to monitor the millions of retailers available online, and Capital One Shopping focuses on the biggest, most popular merchants. While it does eliminate a lot of research you have to do, the extension does not cover the whole spectrum.
- It sometimes finds expired offers
- Capital One Shopping might show you an offer that is no longer available when you try to make the purchase. This is because retailers change their prices and coupon codes often. Similarly, the extension might show you an item that has recently become out of stock.
- It may not give you a better deal compared to a cashback portal.
- It collects a lot of data.
- The extension tracks and records things like emails, addresses, cookies, location, third-party beacons, payment information and transaction data.
- It can slow down your browser.
- Like any other extension or add-on software, Capital One Shopping can negatively affect your browser’s performance.
Bottom Line
Capital One Shopping provides users with two options: online with the extension and in-store with the mobile app. That said, it is an easy and efficient way to save money when making purchases.
If you are someone who wants to save money and time when shopping online, then Capital One Shopping is likely a good tool for you. It will help you find the best deals on items that you’re looking to purchase, it’s free, and it provides rewards with a linked credit card.
You might also want to consider shopping assistant alternatives like Honey and cashback portals like Swagbucks and Rakuten.