Black Friday is quickly approaching us, and South Africans are getting ready to shop up a storm.
According to Finder.com 42% are set to take part in Black Friday, with 48% expected Gen Z shoppers. On Black Friday last year, consumers spent a record R2,9-billion, and that number is expected to jump 30% this year, with e-commerce playing a major part in that growth.
This year, transaction volumes are expected to be a staggering 1950% higher than an ordinary shopping day as bargain-crazed consumers descend on online stores. The average consumer is ready to spend more than R1 700, largely on clothes, shoes and electronics , while Takealot expects Black Friday sales to rise by about 80% to R352-million this year.
Since the majority of the population will be shopping on ecommerce stores, it’s important for consumers to stay vigilant.
Thomas Pays, CEO of payment solution Ozow offers five online shopping safety tips:
* Shop with popular ecommerce retailers – Trustworthy sites like Takealot are able to handle large volumes of transactions through a safe automated process.
* Do not trust non-secure checkouts – Checkout security is imperative as it is the most vulnerable point for cyberhackers to attack. A good encrypted checkout should always have a small padlock icon next to the site’s URL in your browser.
* Move away from mobile shopping – Though convenient, shopping online via your mobile device introduces many new security challenges. Cyberhackers use abbreviated URLs on social media, and once clicked on, you have no idea where it’s directing you to.
* Don’t divulge unnecessary personal information – When filling in your personal details for checkout, do not save your credit card details, ensure that they are cleared from the site and you are logged out of the site properly.
* Use a secure payment solution – By selecting secure payment platforms like Ozow at checkout, consumers no longer need to rely on a credit or debit card to shop. Users can instead complete their purchases using their online savings and cheque accounts. All shoppers need is a bank account linked to their online banking profile.
Pays says alternative payment systems, like automated EFT payments, are becoming increasingly popular because of their sheer ease of use, with no tedious filling in of credit card details needed for every transaction. A further benefit is that they open up the online shopping universe to people who don’t have debit or credit cards.