Many shoppers will be on the lookout for the best deals on the ‘biggest sale day of the year’ – Black Friday, which falls on 29 November this year.
According to BankServAfrica, Africa’s leading automated clearinghouse showed that South Africa’s card transactions reached R3 billion on Black Friday last year, up 16 per cent from 2017.
While the intention of Black Friday is to save you thousands, it is easy to overspend, Derek Cikes, commercial director at Payflex, the South African shop-now, pay-later payment fintech, said, “The best solution is having a strategy in place to help you navigate Black Friday without overspending.”
Cikes provides seven ways to maximise Black Friday deals without going into debt:
- Draw up a plan of action: You need to know what you need and where to get it. Do your research, know where you can get the best deals. Cikes said it is important to know what is out there – make conscious shopping decisions rather than being swept up in the spirit of a ‘great deal’
- Have a budget: Be realistic, know what you can afford. Decide on your maximum budget and allocate spending for must-have items and then a small amount to use freely to treat yourself to something special
- Shop around for a spending plan: Credit is expensive – if you max out your credit card, you defeat the purpose of the ‘great deal.’ Look for alternative payment solutions such as an interest-free spending plan where you can pay 25 per cent upfront and spread the rest of the amount over six-weeks at no additional cost
- The big question: Do I want this or do I really need this? Differentiate on what you need versus what’s nice to have. Get an item that would be most impactful in your life
- Write a list: A shopping list keeps you focused on what you going to buy
- Sign up for the newsletters: Get first-hand information of deals and follower select retailers on the various social media platforms so that you know exactly what’s on offer and where
- Shop online: Avoid the long queues and chaos seen in some retailers. Just click away with the online bargains.
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6 not so shocking truths about Black Friday in South Africa
