JOHANNESBURG - The fourth Friday in November has been marked by several eager shoppers in the world in anticipation, as the one day in the year where retailers offer consumers the craziest bargain deals.
With shopping malls and centres bursting at the seams during the shopping spree, many are opting for online shopping from the comfort of their mobile phones.
According to a 2018 survey conducted by PayPal in 2018, 85% of South African online shoppers use their mobile devices for payment transactions, and the number is growing.
“With the demand of mobile shopping on the rise locally, consumers should be aware of the mobile features on their device that could make their shopping experience more effective and enjoyable,” said Shaun Durandt, general manager of Southern Africa HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones.
As the circled day draws near, Durandt shared reliable Black Friday hacks to help you get the most out of your mobile shopping experience:
Go incognito
Open an incognito window to enable private browsing and disable plugins, because some websites can track your previous visits or coupon plug-ins and adjust their prices accordingly. Not sure how to open an incognito tab? It’s simple, start Chrome and click the three-dotted icon in the top right corner of the screen and click on New Incognito Window.
Shop at websites you trust
On the web, some businesses are fabricated by people who just want your credit card information and other personal details, so the safest is to opt for reliable websites you have bought from before to ensure the business and the inventory exist. If you’re keen to venture into new territories, do a Google search to find reviews of the specific site first – if others had problems, steer clear. After all, a bargain buy that never arrives couldn’t be further from a saving, so it’s not worth the gamble.
Look for the lock
A second safety measure is to look for the lock image on the toolbar, valid certificates such as VeriSign and secure payment systems such as PayU. When you get to the page where you enter your credit card or other personal information, look for an ‘s’ after ‘https://’ in the web address of that page. The encryption is a security measure that scrambles your data as it is entered.
Be careful when using public Wi-Fi
You might be tempted to take your shopping spree to a coffee shop or the mall. What most people don’t know is that these Wi-Fi networks use public airwaves. With a little tech know-how and the freely available Wi-Fi password at your favourite restaurant or coffee shop, someone can intercept the data you send and receive while on free public Wi-Fi. This basically means that someone can duplicate your personal information, so you could pay for what they shop.
Make sure your security is up-to-date
The benefit for shoppers using the latest HMD devices like the Nokia 6.2 is the pure, secure and always up-to-date Android experience. This means that your device runs on a clean, pure version of Android 9 Pie that stays secure with all the latest updates, powered by the latest Google services, giving you peace of mind ahead of your 24-hour shopping spree. Nearly all of the HMD device portfolio get updated to the latest Android version within a year of its release.
Be on the lookout for some great deals with our distribution partners this Black Friday. Remember, be patient, resist the impulse, and you are sure to get yourself some great deals this coming.