If you’re wondering why savings tips appear here again, no, I don’t have Swabian roots, this year MoneyTalks Thursday falls right before Bargain Day of the year. Tomorrow, Friday, is Black Friday. The inbox is flooded with special offers. They rain at you via SMS, WhatsApp and all kinds of channels. The discounts can be up to 30%, 50%, 90%, big and bright, they are on the screens, posters and shop windows. They lure, they seduce. A new technology, whatever? New clothes? A new sofa or cupboard? Cheaper to the gym or spa? So many things we don’t even know we need.
The bargain day comes from America and was invented by local shopkeepers sometime in the 1960s and is traditionally the day after Thanksgiving, which always falls on the fourth Thursday in November. After a day of reflection and thanksgiving with the family, Americans really let it loose the next day in (online) and physical stores. In the In Switzerland we have known Black Friday since about 2015when Manor was the first major retail chain to start.
Today’s bargain hunt has little to do with the eponymous Black Friday from 1929, the day of the great stock market crash, which took place on a Thursday in America and therefore fell on a Friday in Europe.
Black Friday is all about one thing: sales. According to moneytransfers.com, about 8.9 billion francs were transferred in the US in 2021, 154 million Americans shopped that day, 88% of them online. According to blackfridaydeals.ch, sales in Switzerland amounted to around CHF 500 million. Research shows that many people in this country know Black Friday as a day, but only a fraction, namely 16%, actually shop.
One of the big criticisms of Black Friday is that the bargains aren’t real at all, but in some cases are either slow sellers or the prices are artificially high beforehand to make the discount look as attractive as possible. Here it helps you to get the information in advance and the hard work of comparing prices.
Whatever you find on the sale day of the year, here are tips for a successful purchase. Exciting updates on deals and dates are available at blackfridaydeals.ch.
- Get your midnight bargains before the rush arrives: Great for all you night owls, it’s worth starting as early as possible, you’ll get a head start of 6-8 hours before everyone comes.
- Compare prices before you buy: In this way you can prevent discounts that are built up on already too high prices from being offered as a bargain, for example on toppreise.ch or comparis.ch.
- To reserve items in advance: If you reserve all your desired items in the shopping cart before the big hype, you will save time when shopping.
- Buy online: Instead of rushing to the store and wasting time, make targeted online purchases. Check if you can return items you don’t like or don’t fit.
- Create a targeted list and set a budget: It works best if you have a list for Black Friday week and focus on bargains for what you really need. Then impulse purchases have a smaller chance (even if you can return them)
- Don’t buy just because it’s cheap: it is ideal when you buy things you need. Don’t be tempted by cheap, even things that might fit or be 50% good – they often become guards in the closet or apartment.
- Don’t just rely on Black Friday: On toppreise.ch or preispirat.ch you will always find bargains, even during the year, you don’t need a special day for that, so you can leave out offers that don’t suit you or that you don’t like 100% %.
Black Friday works especially well if you have a goal. Because you have only saved if you really need what you buy. For all bargain lovers: Not buying can also be a great bargain, for example if you invest the money in your Pillar 3a instead of spending it or spend the time looking for a bargain with something you like or with someone you like.
How’s the shopping day going? Is it just marketing, or are you actively involved in it? Have you already scored a nice bargain? And do you have any tips? 😊
