Five tips to avoid a “deadlock” on Black Friday

In times of crisis, saving is crucial to keeping the family budget in balance. However, November is the month many consumers have been waiting for, due to Black Friday, which promises discounts and offers on various products.

study done by

Varigo Sky Indicator Expansion

(ICVA) explains that in the 2020 edition of the event, e-commerce sales grew 21%, driven by the pandemic.

Rodrigo Garcia CEO of Petina Solues em Negcios Digitais, a startup that analyzes the performance of national and international markets. He believes that in this year’s Black Friday edition, the trend of online shopping is likely to continue.

“The market has seen a very strong boost in e-commerce, due to the entry of new consumers due to the pandemic and store closures. The trend is for this to be the best Black Friday ever in Brazil for e-commerce.”

But people have to be careful not to get “dumped” by companies and end up “changing a pig into a rabbit” when investing in promotions advertised in the market.

“The main thing to plan is not to compromise the budget and also to be suspicious of potential promotions, because many of them are just scams to deceive the consumer,” warns Garcia.

Technology for more safety

The expert states that history is known as “black fraud” because stores tend to double the price of products days before the event, to say they will sell at half price. Garcia explains that large sales platforms are fighting this practice with technology.

“There are several mechanisms to prevent a seller from behaving like a microfinance owner, and increasing the price before it drops the day before, giving a false impression of a discount. Mercado Livre, for example, has a lock capable of letting go of a product whose price increased 30 days ago. From Black Friday it is not eligible to enter the campaign. Therefore, if the company intends to deceive the customer, it will lose at least a month of sales. On the site itself, there is no such limit and the seller can set the price he wants”, says the manager.

According to him, this mechanism appeared in 2019, after some sites were notified by Procon. In addition, the Consumer Protection Agency also monitors products 90 days before the event and has imposed fines on stores that attempt to deceive the public with fraudulent campaigns.

The expert also mentioned five tips for consumers to avoid these misleading promotions and to succeed in shopping during Black Friday.

paying off:

1- Watch the prices

Before buying on Black Friday, the consumer needs to do a thorough research on the value of the desired product. Garcia stresses that this monitoring should take place well in advance of the promotion, to ensure that the merchandise is actually on display.

“The first step is price monitoring. Don’t leave to watch promotions at the last minute. If you see any irregularities, such as excessive increase and then a fake price cut, report it to Procon. There are websites that also do this monitoring to certify stores that are using real promotions, Like the case of Reclame Aqui. It’s a good source for counseling.”

The specialist also remembers that there are already tools to help consumers monitor prices. “Today there are websites that show charts with a history of prices for the last 30 days.”

2 – Check whether the brand is reliable

Another important tip is to check whether the brand of the store chosen or researched by the customer for purchase has a good reputation in the market, both on consumer protection sites and in the comments made by other consumers. Garcia points out that it is also necessary to be wary of products with very low prices on Internet pages, as this may mean a fraud attempt.

According to him, the market tends to provide more security to buyers because the chance of possible fraud or even data theft is remote due to the reliability of these platforms. “A person needs to be very careful when entering personal data and information online. In many cases, the low value is to lure the victim into a scam,” he warns.

3 – See if it is possible to cancel the purchase

Evaluating ways to cancel purchases from online stores is another way to protect yourself from a scam campaign on Black Friday. The expert explains that all sites have cancellation policies. “There are different spaces that vary by location, but everyone should have the possibility to cancel.”

This type of withdrawal of products purchased online is guaranteed by the Consumer Protection Act (CDC), which guarantees a period of seven days in the event of regret, financial reasons or because the product does not meet the conditions offered.

Garcia points out that some markets, for example, have up to 30 days to make a return. “The institution is obligated to guarantee this right. If the withdrawal is not guaranteed, it is against the law and the relevant consumer protection authorities can be reported. It is good to remember that the product must be in the original packaging and cannot have any signs of use if the customer will only return by Drawn and not by default.

4- Pay attention to delivery times

Another element that deserves special attention from the consumer is the compliance with delivery times by companies.

“This is the determination of the platform. A retailer selling within the market must comply with certain rules. Dispatch within 24 hours is a requirement for almost all of them, except for a product in the furniture segment, which may have a longer duration. If the company does not meet this deadline, The products will not appear in the survey. Therefore, companies have to meet the deadline for getting a good ranking of their products within the sales channels.”

Moreover, if this deadline is not met, the consumer can cancel the purchase and the company within the platform will be penalized.

5- Check out the best selling products

The specialist advises consumers to check the list of best-selling products in the latest issue of Black Friday, the aim of the initiative is to check whether these items have already received good promotions, through the high volume of sales.

Another tip is to check the product ratings on the platform, which shows your rating for audience acceptance and the comments of other people who have purchased those merchandise.

“These are good thermometers for a person so that he can buy the product of his dreams without major problems and see if it is really on offer. Many are waiting for this exact date, so the advice is to use this data as an important consultation tool.”

Garcia also warns consumers to avoid unknown websites and massive discounts on products.

“Platforms are backed by marketplaces and this prevents people from falling for a scam, for example. The sites only provide money to the seller when the product is delivered. They go into a payment flow, so it’s hard to get hit inside these platforms.”

“We are in a moment of rationing of merchandise as well, so it will be difficult to offer super discounts. Obviously, on Black Friday we will have discounts, but it will be less than last year and before last year, for example.”

* Training under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Eduardo Oliveira