Out of hundreds if not thousands of eCommerce sites, 15 cheapest online shopping sites in the USA are among those that offer bargain prices to their customers in order to capture more market share in the high-growth online retail space. Currently around 95% of Americans chose to do their shopping online and given the multitude of websites, those with lower prices are more likely to draw more customers and eventually retain most of them. By comparison, only 22% of Americans bought something online in 2000.
However, despite the popularity of online shopping, Americans still don’t spend nearly as much money online as they do in traditional stores. Last year, the total online retail spending in the US amounted to $322.2 billion, which is a tiny percentage of the whole retail industry of $4.95 trillion. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 15% buy stuff on the Internet weekly, 28% of adults shop online several times a month, and 37% make online purchases less often. At the same time, 20% of the adults said they never shop online.
However, what the survey also revealed was that given the choice and all things equal, two-thirds of people who make online purchases, prefer to buy items from brick-and-mortar stores, while 34% generally prefer online shopping. However, things are not equal and one of the most important advantages that online stores have in comparison with their brick-and-mortar peers is that they can afford to keep lower prices as they don’t have large overhead costs.
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Pricing is the most important factor behind a consumer’s decision where to buy an item. According to Pew, among people who make online purchases, 65% compare prices between online and offline stores and chose those that offer them the best deal. At the same time, 21% buy from physical stores without looking at online prices and just 14% buy online without comparing with prices at other stores.
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One issue that customers looking for bargain prices face is the wide availability of websites, which can complicate the research process. One way to work around this that customers use is turning to Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), which dominated the US online retail space with a share of over 43%. Amazon often has low prices and has a wide variety of products that simplify the search process. In addition, most brick-and-mortar retailers have launched their own websites, so customers can buy items and brands that they know are affordable in physical stores. Due to the popularity of the brick-and-mortar retailers’ brands, many of their websites also rank among the top online shopping sites in the US.
With this in mind, we have selected 15 cheapest online shopping sites in the USA. Many sites in the list are of retailers that are known for their affordability. Other websites among the cheapest online shopping sites in the USA are less known and were selected by scouting the World Wide Web and identifying sites that were most often indicated as being cheap by shoppers.
15. Forever 21
Forever 21 is a well-known American fast fashion retailer that operates over 600 stores around the world. Forever 21 has captured the attention of its customers by trendy clothing, accessories, and beauty products at low pricing. The brand’s website is considered very popular among college students, who often appreciate a good bargain above everything else.
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14. StrawberryNET
StrawberryNET is a website that offers cosmetics, skincare products and fragrances at affordable prices. The website is based in Hong Kong and delivers to over 200 countries. StrawberryNET carries around 200 brand names and offers customers a loyalty program that can save up to 10% and provides free shipping on orders above $30.
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13. Home Depot
Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), the operator of home improvement stores, has focused on expanding its online presence in the last couple of years and because of the retailer’s low prices, it is also among the cheapest online shopping sites in the USA. Earlier this year, Fast Company named Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) as one of the most innovative companies in the world because of its e-commerce-oriented strategy. On its website Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) offers affordable renovation supplies, do-it-yourself items, furniture, appliances and other items. The website also has a free 2-day delivery.
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12. H&M
H&M is another go-to destination for people looking for stylish and affordable clothing. The company’s management has been paying more attention to its online stores and last year it added 11 new online stores and overall offers online retail services in 35 markets. H&M has confirmed its commitment to eCommerce by investing heavily in IT infrastructure and implementing other improvements in order to challenge the growth of other affordable brands with a higher online presence.
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11. Clothing Under 10
Next in line in the list of 15 cheapest online shopping sites in the USA is Clothing Under 10. Clothing Under 10 offers what it says in the title: it provides clothing that costs $10 or less. The Miami-based website also claims that the clothes are trendy and fashionable.
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10. Missguided
Missguided is a clothing website that provides fashion that is inspired by popular influencers like YouTube stars. The website specializes in bold female clothing that is developed by in-house designers and it focuses on fast fashion by providing up to 1000 new styles each week. It’s also affordable, with many items listed under $20 and it also provides a 10% discount for students and free shipping for orders above $50.
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9. Necessary Clothing
Necessary Clothing is one of the cheapest online shopping websites in the USA that is focused on trendy and fashionable women’s clothing at affordable prices. The company also has two physical stores in New York City, in addition to the website. The prices are affordable, but the Necessary Clothing only offers free shipping at orders above $125.
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8. Asos
Asos is the online store that pretty much dressed me during three years of university, when price was the main factor in buying clothes. The UK-based website carries lots of well-known brands in addition to its own in-house names. It offers free shipping on orders above $40 and free returns in the US on all orders.
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7. Boohoo
Boohoo is a UK-based website that aims to provide affordable clothing. The website has lots of choices of apparel, from sportswear to formal clothing and its focus on fast fashion means that they offer 100 new styles every day. Boohoo offers free shipping on orders of above $50 and and provides students with a 20% discount.
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6. Sears
Even though Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) is considered to be on its deathbed, it still serves customers and has an online store that has a large assortment of merchandise and offers free shipping on orders over $49. Sears is generally perceived as a discount chain that provides many items on the cheap and its website offers the same prices.
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5. Newegg
Newegg is one of the most popular US shopping sites specialized in electronics. In addition to electronics, computers, and gadgets, Newegg, which is based in California, also offers clothing and jewelry. It also has a loyalty program that offers 3-day free shipping.
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4. Aliexpress
Aliexpress is a popular Chinese marketplace that offers millions of items for sale direct from manufacturers and delivers to many countries, including the US. Because it connects customers directly to manufacturers, many items are very cheap indeed. The drawback is that the quality and reliability of some items can be questionable.
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3. Overstock
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) is an Internet retailer that started as a seller of surplus and returned merchandise in 1999. After the dot-com bubble, during which Overstock sold inventories of several companies at below-wholesale prices, it continues to sell furniture, bedding, home decor and other items that are closeout merchandise, but it also has new items.
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2. Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) is a popular brick-and-mortar discount retailer that offers groceries and other items at affordable prices. As the company tries to take on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) it has also been focusing on its online store that has prices matched with those in physical stores. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) launched free 2-day shipping on all orders over $35 and provides same-day store pick-up services at all of its stores.
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1. Amazon
Among the cheapest online shopping sites in the USA, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the cheapest online store because it can afford to be the cheapest. For years, there have been discussions whether the company’s usage of robo-pricing is ethical towards its competitors. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) uses computerised tools that analyze prices at its competitors and ensure that its own prices are lower. In addition, the website has millions of items on sale, has many special events like Cyber Monday, Prime Day, when it offers items with big discounts and provides free shipping and other benefits to Prime subscribers.
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These are 15 cheapest online shopping sites in the USA. Most websites in the list are focused on clothing and fashion and there are probably many other affordable shopping sites as retailers are struggling with competition, lowering prices and changing styles more frequently in order to attract more customers.
