IMPARTIAL NEWS + INTELLIGENT DEBATE
Getting the best deals on last-minute Christmas shopping may not be as easy as it first seems
Christmas shoppers hoping to get last-minute bargains online have been warned not all deals may be as good as they first seem.
Research by one YouTuber has raised concerns about a web browser extension which claims to find the best discount codes when shoppers are purchasing online.
Online content creator Megalag carried out a deep dive into the Honey web browser extension and alleges it less of a sweetener and more of a “honey trap”
Investigative YouTuber Megalag alleges, in a video posted 21 December here, the free web browser extension is not necessarily finding the best discount codes for shoppers.
He said “You know what they say ‘if a product’s free, it’s likely you are the product’ and as you’ll find out in the investigation that remains true for PayPal Honey.”
Instead, he has claimed it promotes specific discount codes either exclusive to Honey or to its business partners ignoring ones which may offer better savings.
He said: “It turns out one of the key benefits for stores partnering with Honey is they have full control over which coupon codes go live on the platform.”
And he claims the firm is also reattributing sales made from an social media influencer’s site and taking credit for the transaction.
When influencers endorse a product, they often recommend links to purchase it and in return get a percentage of the sale.
But Megalag says if shoppers click on these links with the browser extension installed then the sale is reattributed to Honey.
He said: “The company is quietly picking money out of their (influencers) very own pockets”.
Shoppers seeking the best deals are advised to conduct their own independent research, rather than relying on tools such as Honey.
The i Paper has approached PayPal Honey for a response to these allegations.
Honey was founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs Ryan Hudson and George Ruan as a free web browser extension, which automatically applies online coupons and discount codes on eCommerce websites.
In 2020, it was purchased by the online payment system PayPal for $4bn (£3.1bn) and in June 2022 it was renamed PayPal Honey.
Users can install it for free as a mobile app and browser extension to helps save money when shopping online.
It is set up to save users time and money by searching the internet for the best existing coupon codes for the products being purchased.
And it will search for the best available price for a product.
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