Capital One Shopping Review laptop and smartphone with pictures of shopping website

Capital One Shopping Review: This Price Comparison Tool Is A Game Changer For Online Shoppers

There are a ton of online shopping tools out there, which makes it hard to figure out which you can trust and which can get you the best deals. Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy) — owned by Capital One — is a free online shopping tool that works to maximize savings for shoppers by automatically scanning the web for available savings opportunities. They offer a price comparison tool, a tool that searches for promo codes, and even price drop monitoring via a browser extension, website, and app. In this post, we are going to give you a full rundown of how Capital One Shopping works to help save shoppers money so you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to add it to your online shopping routine. Full disclosure: Capital One Shopping compensates us when you get the Capital One Shopping extension using the links provided.

Table Of Contents

How Does Capital One Shopping Work? Where Is Capital One Shopping Available? How Do You Get Capital One Shopping? Capital One Shopping Capital One Shopping Hacks That Can Help You Save Even More Is Capital One Shopping The Best Price Comparison Tool For You?

How Does Capital One Shopping Work?

Wikibuy's homepage with trending deals from top stores including Dell, Macys, TJMax, Walmart, Target and Groupon While you browse through products on your favorite online retailers’ websites, Capital One Shopping works seamlessly behind the scenes to help you find savings. It does this thanks to three major features:

Price Comparison

The price comparison feature via the Capital One Shopping browser extension is reserved specifically for Amazon, Target, Home Depot and Best Buy. On these four sites, if Capital One Shopping finds the item you are viewing for a lower price elsewhere, a friendly little alert will pop up next to the price of the product you’re viewing with the dollar amount you can save purchasing the item through another retailer. Hover over the pop-up with your cursor to get more details about the potential savings. Click on it and you’ll find out:
  • The total price of an item including tax, shipping, and any working coupons available
  • Price history
  • Return policy
  • Delivery estimate
  • Related product deals from other shoppers
  • Reviews and rankings from Amazon and Google, plus YouTube videos
You can also scan product barcodes in stores and at home using the app to see available prices for it at top retailers. The barcode scanner is under the “Search” tab in the app. I tested this feature out on a bottle of Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Lotion. Cellphone being held up to a bottle of Vaseline to read the barcode Wikibuy results for Vasaline comparing offers Capital One Shopping will also tell you if the price for the Amazon, Target, Home Depot or Best Buy product you are viewing is the best offer it could find.

Automatic Coupons

For tens of thousands of other e-commerce sites, Capital One Shopping will alert you to available coupon codes while you are viewing your shopping cart or you’re at checkout. If there are known coupon codes for the site you’re shopping through, an alert will pop up from the Capital One Shopping browser extension icon in the top right corner of your browser window. It will tell you the number of coupons that have been found. Click the “try codes” button. If any of them are still valid (codes are updated in real-time), Capital One Shopping will automatically add the best working code it could find to reduce your cost (you can only use one coupon offer at checkout at a time) to your cart. Sometimes you may have to manually enter the codes yourself, something to be mindful of.

Capital One Shopping Credits

Capital One Shopping’s browser extension will also alert you to available Shopping Credits — a percentage of money back you can earn on select purchases with a linked credit or debit card — while viewing your shopping cart or at checkout. When you receive the alert about credits for the first time, you have to hit the “OK” button to activate the rewards. Any time you make a qualifying purchase, your account gets credited in about a week. You can also earn Shopping Credits shopping in-person when you enroll in Capital One Shopping’s Local Offers program. Shopping Credits can be redeemed for gift cards from dozens of merchants.   You can check out Capital One Shopping rewards offerings via the Capital One Shopping website and app. You can see the credits you’ve earned in the Capital One Shopping app under the “More” tab and when you’re signed into the Capital One Shopping website in the top right corner of the site next to your name. You redeem your credits directly through the Capital One Shopping website under the “Help” tab, also in the top right corner of the site next to your name.

Price Drop Monitoring

Capital One Shopping will also keep an eye out for price drops for items you have previously viewed or purchased when you add them to your watchlist. When shopping on Amazon, Target, Home Depot or Best Buy, you’ll be prompted to add an item to your watchlist when Capital One Shopping savings or best price alerts pop up. A button that reads “w.+” will pop up next to the alert. Click it to add an item to your watchlist. When viewing a product on the website, just tap the “Add to Watchlist” button to the right of the product photo. When viewing an item in the app, scroll down to see the watchlist button.

Website And App

You can use the Capital One Shopping website to discover deals and special offers. The site’s front page shows featured offers, stores with trending Shopping Credits deals, offers local to you, and other deals available for you to scroll through by category. You can also use the search bar to find products or search for things by product or store category under the “Stores and Products” tabs. The Capital One Shopping app works much like the website: When you open it up you’ll be presented with the top coupon and Shopping Credits offers of the day in the “Today” tab. You can search offers by zip code in the “Local” tab and see a list of Shopping Credits offers in your area, add products to your watchlist and scan items’ barcodes in stores to see available prices for it at top retailers. You can manage your account information using either the Capital One Shopping website or app.

Where Is Capital One Shopping Available?

Wikibuys landing page showing popular categories and featured stores Capital One Shopping is available as a browser extension for Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Safari. The Capital One Shopping app is available for download for both iOS and Android devices. Capital One Shopping monitors tens of thousands of stores for coupon codes and offers Shopping Credits for thousands of others. I’m talking everything from clothing and department stores to wholesale clubs, supermarkets and restaurants, to mom and pop shops and specialty stores. Any kind of store you can think of, it’s probably on Capital One Shopping’s radar. You can access its full store directory under the Stores tab (the store directory is subject to change). Here is just a sample of some of the merchants Capital One Shopping can find savings for:
    1. Amazon
    2. eBay
    3. T.J. Maxx
    4. Lowes
    5. Wayfair
    6. JCPenney
    7. Saks Fifth Avenue
    8. Modell’s Sporting Goods
    9. DSW
    10. Famous Footwear
    11. Best Buy
    12. Ulta Beauty
    13. Clinique
    14. Warby Parker
    15. Walmart
    16. Walgreens
    17. Petco
    18. Michaels
    19. Staples
    20. Bath & Body Works
    21. Groupon
    22. Overstock
    23. Barnes And Noble
    24. Airbnb
    25. Vrbo
    26. Sam’s Club
    27. Hello Fresh
    28. eBay
    29. Lowes
    30. Hulu
    31. Verizon
    32. AT&T
    33. Autozone
    34. Advanced Autoparts
    35. Ancestry.com

How Do You Get Capital One Shopping?

When you go to Capital One Shopping website, after a few seconds of being on the site, a window will pop up prompting you to sign-up. Provide your email, create a password and hit continue or create an account by linking your Google or Facebook account. You’ll be asked to enter your first and last name, your zip code and you’ll be asked if you have an Amazon Prime Account  (it’s one of the major retailers it monitors). Select yes or no, accept the terms and conditions, then hit continue and you’re all signed up.  Next is the browser extension. Go to your browser’s app store and search “Capital One Shopping” to get the extension or scroll down to the bottom of Capital One Shopping’s home page and in the bottom right corner you’ll see a hyperlink that says “Get Capital One Shopping.” Click on it and you’ll be directed to an install page for the specific browser you’re using. If it’s a qualifying one, there will be a button that says “Add to browser name. It’s free.” Click it, then follow the instructions. If you’re trying to get Capital One Shopping on your smartphone, search “Capital One Shopping” in the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

How Much Money Can You Really Save Using Capital One Shopping?

Now that we’ve gone over the finer details of how Capital One Shopping works, it’s time to get down to the good stuff — how much it will actually save you. That’s why we put it to the test. Google Chrome is my preferred browser, so that’s what I used to test Capital One Shopping. I decided to test its various features including its price comparison tool, its Shopping Credits feature and its ability to find promo codes. Here’s how it stacked up: Shopping On Amazon Amazon is where I do most of my online shopping because I have an Amazon Prime account, so that’s where I started. I looked up cases for the iPhone 11. I usually go with Spigen or Otterbox and settled on The Spigen Ultra Hybrid Pro Max Case in the Matte Black color for $12.99. Shipping for this was free and the case was eligible for one-day delivery. With tax, it brought my total to $13.85. Capital One Shopping didn’t find any coupons, but it did find me $3.68 (27% off) in savings if I bought this item on eBay instead of Amazon. There it would cost me $10.17. Delivery would take an estimated four days, but that’s not a bad trade-off considering the savings. Wikibuy's popup chrome extension demonstrating price differences on an Amazon landing page for an iPhone Wikibuys landing page for iPhone showing recommendations about where to get the best deal Total Cost Of Item On Amazon: $13.85 Savings Capital One Shopping Found: $3.68 off for a total of $10.17

Shopping On JCPenney.com

Next, I decided to test out JCPenney. It’s one of the featured stores on Capital One Shopping with a 9% back offering when you shop on it using a debit or credit card that you’ve linked to your Capital One Shopping account. I’m in the market for a new bedding set, so I navigated to the Comforters & Bedding Sets department. I picked the Home Expressions Tiles Complete Bedding Set — an eight-piece set, size Queen. It originally cost $150 and was marked down to $49.99 (61% off). Capital One Shopping found me a promo code that knocked an extra $10 off the already marked down price, bringing the total before tax and shipping to $39.99. With tax and shipping, my total came to $53.30. Without this code, it would cost $62.84. Plus I get back $3.82 in Shopping Credits with the 9% back offer. Not bad at all. Wikibuys chrome extension showing deals for bedspread at JCPenny Wikibuys chrome extension popup showing how much the user saved was $10and a 9% Wikibuy credit Total Cost Of Item On JC Penney: $62.84 with shipping Savings Capital One Shopping Found: $10 off for a total of $52.18 when shipped to my address + get 9% back in Shopping Credits

Shopping On Asos

Asos is another featured store on Capital One Shopping’s website. I’ve never shopped there before, but know a few people who do. I’m a bit of a sneakerhead and I love chucks so I was super excited to see that Asos had some available on its site. I selected a pair of Nike Air Force 1 ’07 priced at $90. Capital One Shopping had three discount codes for me to try, only one of which worked. It got me $13.50 off (15% off), which brought my total to $76.50. There was no shipping fee because Asos offers free shipping worldwide and New Jersey, where I live, doesn’t tax clothing, including shoes (YAY!). All in all, it was a great shopping experience. I’m always hunting for chances to save money, even if it’s only by a few bucks. When you’re living a budget like I am, every dollar you can save counts. Wikibuys chrome extension showing promo and student code for Nike Air Force 1 '07 for Asos wikibuys chrome etension showing a $13.50 savings and savings code Total Cost Of Item On Asos: $90 Savings Capital One Shopping Found: $13.50 off for a total of $76.50

Get The Most Out Of Capital One Shopping With These Hacks

Overall, Capital One Shopping makes it really easy to just sign-up and to start saving money, but I have found a few hacks along the way that enable you to compound how much you are saving when you use it. To get the most out of Capital One Shopping, I recommend that you go to the Capital One Shopping website to check out featured and trending offers ahead of your shopping to up your savings potential and save yourself time and energy. Not checking the website may mean missing out on an amazing offer or wasting your time shopping at a store that you won’t get Capital One Shopping savings for. The app is great for doing this too. When you’re looking to restock on certain products in your home, scan their barcodes to see what savings you can get for them as you make your shopping list. I also think it is helpful to use the search bar to find what you’re looking for or navigate to the “Products” or “Stores” tabs to search by category. Capital One Shopping has a store directory for the retailers it monitors available under the “Stores” tab. I’d also recommend taking advantage of the Capital One Shopping stores that have Shopping Credits offerings because you can easily multiply your savings that way. Many of the stores with Shopping Credits offers also have coupon codes available for them, too. You’ll find Shopping Credits deals featured on the front page under “Trending Deal From Top Stores.” On the page with the store directory, you’ll also find a larger listing of featured offers, including any Capital One Shopping rewards offers. Another thing to note: The app is great for saving on food. Under the “Local” tab, you’ll find a ton of Shopping Credits offers for restaurants near you, and offers in other categories, too. Check it out while you’re making plans to eat out.

Is Capital One Shopping The Best Price Comparison Tool For You?

Capital One Shopping is a tool that every online shopper and bargain hunter will appreciate. It’s free, it does the deal hunting for you, you’re not limited to just one kind of savings, and it doesn’t just focus on big-name stores. All in all, this is a great price checking tool to add to your arsenal when you are on the hunt for deals, and because it’s free you don’t have much to lose by trying it.