With Black Friday taking place in less than 24 hours, a whole lot of massive shopping will be taking place all over the country as retailers are going BIG, offering crazy discounts on thousands of products. To avoid long queues at stores, online shopping seems to be the best option.
However, there are certain precautions you need to consider when doing online shopping.
Julie-Anne Walsh, Takealot Chief Marketing Officer, says each year the company looks at trends and intelligence from local and international markets, as well as using their own data from the previous year to tailor the sales in line with what South Africans are looking for.
“We have paid special attention to securing excellent deals on some of the latest new tech and toys, as well as discounting some of our biggest sellers from the last few years.
“So shoppers can expect some mind-blowing discounts on TVs and other electronics, cell phones, appliances, books, beauty products and, of course – as we head into the festive season – toys and games galore!”.
Tips for online shopping this Black Friday;
If you are shopping online, set your clock for midnight on Thursday November 23
Most sales start as the clock strikes 12 so make sure you have data and your Wi-Fi isn’t past its cap. Get into bed early and set a few alarms. By the time the rest of the world wakes up you can have done your shopping and be catching some restful winks before heading to work.
Create a wishlist so you can checkout ASAP on the day
The prices may change on goods for Black Friday but the goods will already be there. Go online, create your wishlist in advance and then when the sale starts, quickly go to your list, see which items are marked down enough and press ‘checkout’ to beat your shopping competitors to the bargain!
Do your homework
Get your hands on as many newsletters and flyers as you can. Like the Facebook pages and Twitter feeds of all your beloved retailers and monitor their bargains closely. Retailers started releasing their Black Friday in early November for weekend specials. Start your plotting and planning as early as possible and draw up a plan of action.
Have a plan of action on Black Friday
Some of your purchases may be in the real world and some in cyberspace. A good plan is to start with cyberspace early and then head off to the physical shops once you’ve done the calm and peaceful online shopping. Chances are, once you’ve been involved in a three-person scrum over the last Christmas Turkey in the supermarket, you may only be capable of heading home and lying down...
Make sure your details are up-to-date
If you are shopping online, you won’t want to be messing around updating details as everyone around you is checking out what should have been your goods… It is worth logging into the sites you love before Black Friday and checking your details are 100% accurate.
Get the app
Download the app for your favourite online retailers early. This will allow you to browse much faster and they’ll also send you push notifications of the big discounts to look out for.
Check in advance if you can return your purchases
Most outlets, both online and physical, will accept returns for Black Friday purchases but this is not a guarantee. It is worth checking terms and conditions in advance to make sure that any purchases made ‘in the moment’ can be returned.
Set a budget
Decide ahead of time what you plan to spend on the Black Friday sales and stick to it. You could quickly find yourself shopping for Christmas 2018, 19 and 20 if you are not careful. Be responsible and remember that the expensive festive season is coming up so you’ll need a bit left over for this!
*Tips supplied by Superbalist.com