The Online Shoppers Guide To Black Friday Bliss

The countdown to Black Friday (I will refer to as BF in this post) has begun, social media is a buzz and for once you can believe the hype, this time it's not fake news. Whether you're a seasoned online shopping veteran or an online shopping noob it's always a good idea get a leg up on your competition. If you're reading this post, I sense the force is strong in you, Young Padawan. The answers you seek are a few steps away and this guide should help you avoid help you avoid the Black Friday Blues.

Black Friday pre-shopping tips

Victory is ensured by how well you prepare, get BF ready with these tips!

Square your credit card 

Look we're going to need this bad boy in pristine condition if you're going to make the most out of BF. You never know what added value or deals you might run into on your way to check out and maxing out your card one or two deals because you're still paying off last months shopping is a lame excuse. Seriously? Is that how you want to live your life?

Prepare your budget

The period from November to January is known as the longest part of the year for a reason. You've got the holidays coming up, you've got Christmas shopping to do, you've may have to think about back to school goodies as well as a new gym membership from all the chowing you did over the festive season. So make sure you factor all these expenses into your budget before you allocate yourself a Black Friday war kitty. We can't all live that PSG life and buy the Neymar's of this world, so shop with your head and not your heart, spend wisely.

Create a shopping list

No brainer! Make a list of what you want, geez, how is this a tip?

Pick a site you like

Now that you have your shopping list all set up its time to match your list with the stores that would potentially have a deal on these items. If you don't know where to start then check out our list of South African Online Stores Hosting Black Friday 2017

Create an account/Download their app

Once you've identified the sites you want to use, create an account or download their app should they have one. You can't be wasting vital time on BF doing tedious admin so get this out of the way as soon as possible. Fill in your contact details, shipping details and save.

Create a wish list or basket

Now its time to put that shopping list to good use. Browse through the sites you're keen on and start adding the products you want to either your wish list or your basket. Create a large curated list of items you want just in case you're slow to react come Black Friday and you miss out on your top picks.

Preload your payment method of choice

If the site does have this function, then I say take full advantage, upload your credit card details and store it with them. On BF it will make the purchase process a whole lot faster.

Check if bitcoin or gift cards is an option

The credit card is no trusty Excalibur by any stretch of the imagination and that piece of plastic could come back to stab you in the back. While you're dealing with 3D secure and waiting for an OTP someone could have swiped the last unit from right under you. If the store you're looking to shop at offers bitcoin or the option of purchasing gift cards then I suggest you take full advantage.

Using these payment methods can ensure instant payment confirmation and make sure you secure the deal of your dreams. That's right come to papa (or mama, #feminism Emma Watson, here's looking at you kid)!

Black Friday - On the day shopping tips

Once you feel that you've adequately prepared for BF and had a good nights sleep all week it's time to pull out the war paint and get ready because you're about to pull an all-nighter. Remember only the strong will emerge victoriously.

Stay up till 12

From my personal experience on the other side of the screen I can tell you no it's not a computer doing all the work yes we do stay up till 12 to push deals live, make sure pricing is correct and check that our marketing goes out before anyone else. So if you want to make sure you prize the best deals I suggest stock up on some red bulls or install some java in that coffee cup and let's get caffeine wasted.

Multiple tabs open

You don't want to miss out on deals because of browser issues. It's literally the worst way to fail on BF. A real online shopper knows you gotta have contingencies by using multiple browsers. Open up chrome, firefox, safari and set up all your tabs for the different stores you want to take aim at and let the fun begin. Shout out to the OGs who use this method, holla at your boy!

Refresh, Refresh, Refresh

Unfortunately, this is a reality on Black Friday, sites can and will go down. eCommerce sites can only handle so many concurrent users and simultaneous requests for payments from your bank before they lose the plot and trust me, panic sets in on both sides of the purchase and it can get messy. Think of it as everyone forcing their way through the till isle at once, it's just not going to be pretty.

You will need to be patient as their servers can only handle a certain load at a time, as people purchase and leave or bounce in frustration the site will have resources freed up to assign to you. Expect sites to go down on Black Friday, unless you're Google, Facebook or Amazon. So Make sure you have a backup site you can fall back on should you the site be down for long periods of time.

Protip! If you want to ensure you get the deal you desire. Then when you make your purchase and select your payment method and go with EFT/Bank deposit. This ensures you bypass the payment process and helps you get your order number as quickly as possible. Once that's done deposit the money in the store's account and send them an email or facebook message with proof of payment.

Check shipping costs

We all know BF excitement can blind you to the finer details like shipping costs. Make sure you check these as some stores can up their shipping or nail you with express shipping because you're eager to get your goodies. Compare deals and shipping costs with different sites to make sure you score big.

Remember Cyber Monday

If you're new to the scene then you may not have heard of Cyber Monday, Black Friday's digital cousin. Cyber Monday is a term originally coined by retailers for the Monday following Black Friday, and it was invented to persuade the buying public to shop online.

While Cyber Monday is nowhere near the magnitude of Black Friday it does give you a chance to pick up a few great deals especially when the majority of consumers have blown their budget on Black Friday. For a list of Cyber Monday deals stay tuned to the site or sign up for our newsletter

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Tags: Blog, tips, retail