I distinctly remember a time when I was terrified of shopping online. I would cringe at the thought of entering my card information because I feared getting my identity stolen (hey it happens). But now I’m singing a different tune. Whenever I do venture out to an actual store, which isn’t often, I’m reminded of how much I prefer to be at home in my pj’s adding items to my cart. So much easier!

However, shopping online does have some drawbacks and can be quite stressful. Here are some tips for shopping online that will save you time and money (and a few headaches too!).

• KNOW YOUR MEASUREMENTS Unfortunately, sizes run differently from brand to brand and when you add in international shops, well forget it. I’ve found that the best thing is to know your basic measurements; bust, waist, hips, width (shoulder). This information is usually including in the sizing charts and it will help better determine what size to get an item in. This comes especially handy with SheInside, and Asian online store, that tends to run small.

• USE DIFFERENT SEARCH ENGINES I know we live in the world of Google but when searching for a specific piece try another search engine like Bing or Yahoo. The will bring up different search results than Google and sometimes you’ll come across exactly what you were looking for. A favorite of mine is Shopstyle. I always find reasonably priced items and discover brands and online shops I didn’t know about.

• MAKE A LIST OF WHAT YOU WANT & NEED What do you want? What do you need? This is important to know so you’re not wasting time aimlessly looking for whatever. Cut down on the time spent hunting for an item by having a detailed list on hand. The more specific you are, i.e. gray cutout shirt vs gray shirt, the better.

• BE FAMILIAR WITH REFUND, RETURNS & EXCHANGE POLICIES In-store I almost never try on clothes. I hate it. I prefer to try things on in the comfort of home and going back to return or exchange. But when you’re shopping online this is not an option. Always read what the criteria is for exchanges, returns, and refunds. Pay particular attention to in-store exchanges, returns, and refunds of items purchased online. Check to see if a store has free returns and exchanges! It’s also good to know how long you have to send an item back. I recently learned that if you make a purchase at Zara online you can only do an exchange in-store for the same item. Which really sucks. Also for H&M online purchases you can't return or exchange in-store. The inability to do this is major for me which is why I rarely shop online at Zara or H&M.

• SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR FAVORITE STORES I know, I know, how many more promotional emails can you get in day right!? I feel you. But listen, subscribing to email alerts from your go-to stores is a great way to get promo codes, get notified of items that are back in stock, pre-order items, and so much more. This saves you money and who doesn’t like to save some coins? Let’s be real!

Hopefully these online shopping tips are helpful! Share yours below in the comments ♥