Black Fridays often come with a lot of fanfare for businesses and shoppers. These days, marketplaces like Jumia and Konga give you a whole month plus shopping excitement instead of a day or week. As a result, it’s easy to miss out on the best deals or overspend without careful planning. But not to worry, whether it’s your first time or not, here are some shopping tips to have in your arsenal for Black Friday 2022.
Start early
By the time you’re reading this, it’s likely a bit late for Black Friday. But there’s always Cyber Monday and Christmas sales ahead. So start early to plan your shopping. This can involve creating a wishlist, researching what you plan buying or making a budget.
Carefully curate your shopping list ahead of time, noting prices and other important information. Research the lifecycle of items, newer models, etc. For some items, such as the latest video game consoles and toys, you can watch prices to buy at the slightest discounts you can get. However, there’s a high chance these will prove more difficult during Black Friday and other unique shopping days. Plus, deals on them will be insignificant.
Work with a budget
Have a working budget on how much you want to spend. Going in without planning may mean you buy things you don’t need because they are cheap. When working with a budget, you will be more conscious of how you spend and what you spend.
Prepare your card(s) ahead.
For those in Nigeria who may want to shop on foreign websites, it helps to sort out your shopping debit cards ahead of time. Many Nigerian banks have restrictions on naira-denominated debit cards and recommend dollar-denominated cards for international purchases.
Ensure your card is fully loaded and ready to go for local purchases before you start hitting checkout. It is also essential to consider your digital safety this time, including how you share your card information. You may opt for a virtual prepaid card or a bank card specifically for shopping.
Use price and coupon trackers
It’s common knowledge that some items are higher priced during Black Friday or were lower priced at some point in the year. Price trackers can show you if you’re saving or spending more to get the same item. They compare current to historical prices for the same thing.
Add items to your cart or your wishlist to compare prices during Black Friday and other sales promotions. Examples of price trackers include browser extensions like Honey and Camel. Honey also helps show you any coupons available on the online store, which you use immediately. Of course, always use a coupon when you can.
Don’t impulse-buy
Because that LCD TV or laptop looks cheap doesn’t mean you have to click buy instantly. One crucial question is, “why this huge drop in the price of this item?” You should take some time to review customer comments about the product, life cycle, warranty, etc. It may be that the product is no longer supported or in production, so you must be sure you understand these terms before proceeding.
Another good hack is to look at the price and not the discount. That it’s written 50% off doesn’t equate to getting good value for the item’s current price.
Shopping doesn’t have to end with regrets of overspending or buying sub-standard products. Instead, you can get what you need at the best prices with careful planning.
Here’s to a fun Black Friday 2022 shopping season!
