Image: paffy/Shutterstock
If you’re setting out to navigate the minefield of Black Friday deals and dupes, go armed with solid advice and directions to some good deals.
The fact that the phenomena of Black Friday and Cyber Monday originate from the aftermath of a US-only holiday is lost on most retailers around the world, who are more than happy to take up this banner if it means more sales. In fact, many have dispensed with the logic of language, with Black Friday now used to define week-long deals and offers.
If all that wasn’t enough, there’s the looming prospect of Singles’ Day breaking out of China. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday pale in comparison to Singles’ Day. This year, on 11 November, online shoppers bought merchandise worth more than $25bn across Alibaba’s platforms, totting up 812m orders within 24 hours, and Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang recently said: “We want the ‘China phenomenon’ to spread to the whole world.”
Infographic: Statista
We can’t stop the deals rush, but we can shop savvily.
Plan before you buy
Be it Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles’ Day or whatever else comes to take their place, the pressure on shoppers at this time of year can be intense. The smartest consumer advice that can ever be offered amid a bombardment of advertising convincing you that now is a good time to buy, buy, buy is this: no one ever saved money with a discount on something they never planned to buy in the first place.
Double-check the price
That said, there are some shoppers who wait for this time of year to roll around to pick up an intended purchase for a better price. If you do intend to tackle tech shopping from Black Friday up to Cyber Monday, it’s worth taking this tip from the Irish Independent’s Adrian Weckler on board and compare prices using platforms such as PriceSpy.ie. You might just find that some Black Friday buys aren’t all that they’re built up to be.
Control your impulses
It’s important to also keep your trigger finger in check. Despite your best frugal intentions, it can be hard for even a savvy shopper not to get caught up in the Black Friday buyer mania. A 2016 Thanksgiving and Holiday Survey from Statista asked what impulse buys were most likely to entice US shoppers and found that 43pc of respondents would make an impulse purchase of clothing, textiles or shoes if a good offer caught their eye.
The only way to prevent impulse shopping is to take your time. Resolve not to complete the checkout process without stepping away from the computer for a moment. Put your wallet in another room before you go online and you may find that the seconds-long trip to retrieve it makes you rethink that purchase.
Remember: any e-commerce facility set up to make payments easier – such as one-click PayPal orders or saving your credit card details for faster processing next time – is all about making you spend less time deciding how you spend your money. You owe it to yourself to think before you buy.
Infographic: Statista
Now, take this advice in hand and prepare your wallet, because I know what you really came here for: the deals.
1. Inspirefest
For one day only on Black Friday, you can get an extra 10pc off a Super Early Bird ticket to Inspirefest 2018. Simply visit the website on 24 November and use the code ‘BLACKFRIDAY’ when making your purchase. This offer lasts only as long as Super Early Bird tickets are still available, so get yours before they’re all snapped up, and get ready to join us for the sci-tech event of the year.
For one day only! An extra 10% off Super Early Bird Tickets this #BlackFriday #earlychristmaspresent – https://t.co/5MBdD3JJus pic.twitter.com/XkG7P5Hu5K
— Inspirefest 2018 (@InspirefestHQ) November 22, 2017
2. Brick Friday at the Lego store
Lego is treating early seasonal shoppers with five days of offers starting Thursday 23 November. Each day, different Lego sets will be available at a 20pc discount, and you can have a sneak peek to see if any on your wish list are set for a price drop. Additionally, over the five days, any shopper with a cart totalling more than €65 will get a free Nutcracker character gift.
3. Starting early with Wildfang
Wildfang has been rolling out the discounts since Monday (20 November). If you’re not familiar, this fashion brand offers a gender-fluid approach to fierce clothing and has been backed by none other than rockstar VC Arlan Hamilton. All full-price merchandise site-wide is currently 25pc off and additional deals will pop up daily during the brand’s ‘kind of a big deal’ sale.
4. ESA’s ‘Black Hole Friday’
With the coupon code ‘BLACKHOLE’, visitors to the European Space Agency’s Spreadshirt shop from 24 to 27 November can benefit from a special offer.
5. Lottie deals
All this week, shoppers can get 30pc off Lottie dolls and accessories by entering the discount code ‘BLACKFRIDAY17’ at checkout. These dolls are inspired by real kids and we’re big fans of them here at Silicon Republic, especially the STEAM collection celebrating science, technology and the arts.
