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Tag: Black Friday

  • Last minute hacks as Black Friday ends and Yuletide begins

    Last minute hacks as Black Friday ends and Yuletide begins

    So 2023 Black Friday ends tomorrow but you still haven’t done some last minute shopping for yourself, even as the countdown to the Yuletide season begins. Not to worry, we’ve got you. You still have time to shop. Find time in your schedule to do so.

     It doesn’t matter if it’s only just two days, the countless sales and discounts can inevitably lead to excessive spending. But just because it is Black Friday, that does not mean you should be hurting your pockets, overspending money blindly. Here are some tips to help you with last minute shopping get things at cheaper rates. Interestingly, these tips also apply when shopping for the holiday.

    •Draw up a budget and stick to it

    •Do not overspend on items you don’t need

    •Have a game plan

    Read Also: Beware of ‘Black Friday’ online scams, FG warns consumers

    •Make a list of your must-have items to avoid getting distracted and don’t stray from it, no matter what

    •You can still do your homework: check prices, do some research on the items on your list

    •Get shopping companions or companions: a shrewd shopping companion can help you hit more places in less time and find great deals.

    •Give yourself a deadline People posting Black Friday links on social media can get you those sneaky bargains nice and quickly: People posting Black Friday links on social media can get you those sneaky bargains nice and quickly.

    •Take a peek on social media People posting Black Friday links on social media can get you those sneaky bargains nice and quickly

    •Remember the sales for yourself or family will come and go but your  finances should never be compromised, and you are responsible for your spending

  • Sweet potatoes on a Black Friday

    Sweet potatoes on a Black Friday

    Hmm, ladies! So this year’s Black Friday came and took us by surprise and now we are at the last of the last days of the season. And I am here counting my fingers, dreaming of what we could have bought. Kai, this is not good o…it is not acceptable, I tell you,” entered the world famous Jolaolu, the one we call Sexy Jola, murmuring to no one in particular as she joined us under the ebelebo tree in front of the house.

    “Could have, should have, wanna! Why are so worried? What to do Jola, no be our own bad pass jare. The whole world, not just Nigeria is going through cash crunch. I bet the sellers themselves are not smiling, just as buyers are not,” Tamara interjected.

    “But where is Tinu and her potatoes Totori porridge na? I am salivating already,” voiced Tamara, laughing her heart away.

    “Una go kill person with grammar, which one be Totori porridge again. You guys are so creative,” Barrister Ada noted with a smile.

    “Make you siddon there. After Tamara’s exploit with the yogurt snack last week which she called ‘yogurt extravaganza’, why won’t Tinu call her potatoes porridge Totori. But I hope it would be as sweet as the name sha,” I offered.

    “But seriously, Jola raised a valid point with the Black Friday thing. Ladies, are we not going to shop at all? This is not funny o,” Tamara asked.

    Ada shook her head and said: “How times have changed! Remember when we used to outdo each other with our shopping spree, even when we really didn’t need most of what we bought that we too know what’s what. Even COVID-19 did not stop us, but this year, nothing. It came without any pomp and ceremony. Times have truly changed.”

    “Speak for yourself, Ada. I have never been a fan of Black Friday. I have always wondered why there is so much frenzy around it,” Mummy Fawaz stated with a determined tone. “I feel it’s irresponsible of a sort and a waste of resources (of time, energy and money). I feel we be setting a good examples for our children and not be encouraging such behaviours.”

    And by that she threw open a can of worms that thrust the house into an argumentative mode. “Why would you say that”, “Speak for yourself Mummy Fawaz”, “Don’t be too backward in your thinking,” “Haba, why would you feel that way” and more followed.

    Read Also: Firm kicks off black Friday sales

     “What are you ladies fighting about,” asked Tinu and silenced all arguments with the arrival of the tantalising aroma of her porridge. She literally doused the heat and brought smiles on the faces of the waiting party. “Oya, food don land, make we make peace.”  Some ladies stood up to assist her, just then Christabel walked in with some pack of juice in hands.

    “I was listening to all your gists, and had a thing or two to contribute but for my client waiting to collect the dress I was making for her, I would have joined you ladies earlier,” Christabel said.

    Just then, Tinu stretched her stretch a plate to her, and probed “What is even the cause of the squabble sef?” And as a good reporter, I offered to explain, “The row was about Black Friday and its essence.  Mummy Fawaz actually called the frenzy usually associated with Black Friday as irresponsible.”

    “I think it’s a matter of choice, Mummy Fawaz but it is also her opinion and should be respected,” Christabel opined. “But if you ask me ladies, we can still do something before the season ends. Let’s make a list of what each of us would love to have or need. If it’s needed by many of us, like foodstuff, we can contribute towards it and get it in bulk.

    This time, we don’t have to follow the frenzy but plan well, even for the Yuletide. Just let me work out the details; I’ll get back to you.” The suggestion went down well with everyone; we all agreed, dug deep and savoured the delicious steaming plate of Tinu’s Totori porridge.

  • Firm kicks off black Friday sales

    Firm kicks off black Friday sales

    Preparation for this year’s Black Friday sales is at its peak as manufacturers, shopping malls and other service providers are ready to give their clients and customers better deals this season.

    Foremost furniture company, DO.II has a number of new products  on the shelf and in its showrooms and the organisation is set to give customers value for their money with its 2023 Black Friday sales this weekend. 

    According  to the founder and CEO of DO.II , Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo who spoke at the company’s new showroom and outlet located on 100 Kudirat Abiola way, Oregun, Lagos this year’s sales promises to be exciting and package to bring big deals for their numerous customers.

    Read Also: Beware of ‘Black Friday’ online scams, FG warns consumers

    Happily she talked about her experience in the sector, opportunities and challenges. 

    “We started DO.II in our old design Options showroom at Ajose Adeoogun. We were there for a few years and four years ago we moved to our Akin Adesola showroom.  So, our customers can visit any of our showrooms or online for their purchases.”

    She added: “I co-founded Design Options 36 years ago at the age of 27 years. At 27, I didn’t  know what I was doing but I knew that there wasn’t good quality  Nigerian furniture because we were importing everything. In addition, I had always  wanted to do something for Nigeria, empower people, create value and employment.”

    Initially, Ighodalo wanted to focus on interior design but her heart moved on to being a furniture manufacturer.

  • Beware of ‘Black Friday’ online scams, FG warns consumers

    Beware of ‘Black Friday’ online scams, FG warns consumers

    The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has warned consumers against possible increase in fake online stores to scam them during the ‘Black Friday’ sales.

    A statement by the commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Babatunde Irukera, shared on ‘X’, said the FCCPC received credible intelligence that fake online stores would increase by 135 per cent.

    Irukera advised consumers to be vigilant this period adding that they should demand and insist on their rights, particularly with respect to full and transparent disclosures.

    Read Also: There goes Obasanjo again! 

    ”FCCPC has received credible intelligence that the customary seasonal sales at deep discount on a specific Friday, otherwise known as “Black Friday”, may witness an increase of fake online stores by 135 percent.

    According to him, consumers should only patronise trusted and credible platforms and exercise caution to avoid being victims of fraud and other exploitation.

    ”This is including scams, misrepresentation and other exploitative conduct.

    ”This information is corroborated by publicly available reports such as Netcraft.

    ”For reports and inquiries, please visit our website at www.fccpc.gov.ng and follow us on our social media handles: @fccpcnigeria or fccpcnigeria” 

  • Over 30,000 vendors will offer up to 90% discount during Black Friday – Jumia CCO

    Although, an American idea, Black Friday has become one of the most anticipated shopping festivals in Nigeria. Online retail giant like Jumia offers huge discounts during this campaign to attract tons of customers during the one month long event. The Chief Commercial Officer of Jumia, Mr. Shobhit Pandey explained to our reporter on how Jumia has negotiated great discounts and deals with its vendors.

    Can you tell us about your role at Jumia?

    Today, I manage commercial in the capacity of Chief Commercial Officer. I joined Jumia about 4 years ago as a Vice President for Key Account Management

    What is Jumia doing to ensure only genuine and trusted products are listed online during the Black Friday campaign?
    We have several initiatives and measures that we take to ensure that we sell genuine products. In fact, selling genuine products is an integral part of our mission. What we do periodically is not only for Black Friday. First of all, we have some brands which are restricted for listing by any seller. For instance, Apple, LG, etc. which are banned by any vendor trying to list a product from them. Before they list, they have to show us a proof of purchase. Once we verify that the proof of purchase is from authentic purchase, we allow them to list those brands on our platform. There are times when vendors manage to list product, and then the product is sold. Then, customer checks the product and considers it to be fake. First step is we charge the vendor N50,000 as penalty and the vendor is banned to sell that product for its entire life on Jumia. If this happens for the second time from the same vendor, he or she cannot sell on Jumia for 3 months. If it happens for the 3rd time, we ban the vendor for life from being able to sell on Jumia. These are 3 key measures that we take to ensure that we sell only genuine products to our customers.

    Compared to last year’s Black Friday, what level of discounts and deals have you negotiated with your vendors for this year’s Black Friday?

    This year, we have expanded to Black Fridays (5 Fridays), instead of Black Friday ( 1 single Friday). It’s  going to run from 2nd of November to 30th. Since the length of the event is almost a month, we have managed to secure up to 90% discounts on deals. For instance, you will have about 50% off on some phones and tablets. You will have almost 50% off on TVs and audio devices,; you will have 80% off on fashion items. This year, what we’re doing differently is flash sales which is 5 times more than last year. We will have more than 1,000+ flash sales. We will have daily treasure hunts, which was not the case. You can get an iPhone XS Max for N5,000. We are also giving out vouchers which you can use and redeem within the Black Friday period. Those are the few initiatives we have, better than last year’s Black Friday.
    What’s your projection in terms of number of items to be sold this Black Friday, and what’s driving this projection?
    We are expecting that we should be able to do 5 times what we did last year’s Black Friday, in terms of number of items sold. What is driving this projection is the quality of deals that we have this year, the amount of discount we have during this period, the duration of the event which is longer than last year, and more SKUs on offer. Last year, we had +1,000,000 SKUs; this year we have 4 million SKUs on offer during this period.
    How many of your vendors are participating in this year’s Black Friday, and how many products will be listed on the platform?
    We have 30,000 vendors participating in this year’s Black Friday, which is times 3 what we had last year. In terms of products, we already have more than 10 million products, but in terms of products that should be on Black Friday deals, it should be 4 million products.

    Can you provide some insights on the process for becoming a vendor/seller on Jumia?

    To become a seller on Jumia platform, there are multiple ways you can do it. You can either sign up on the seller sign up on the website – ‘How To Become A Vendor’. After signing up, you will be contacted by one of our call centre agents to go through the next steps of becoming a vendor. You can also become a vendor, let’s say your friend is selling on Jumia, he or she can refer you to become a vendor, and you go through the process of signing up. We also have vendor training done every Tuesday and Thursday, two sessions: 10am and 4pm respectively. So we have offline training, and online training on vendor hubs. On seller center hub which is the back-end of our vendor management platform, we have online training where you can learn how to sell on Jumia, and also increase and improve your sales on Jumia. You learn the key things to do to increase your sale on Jumia, plus we also send communications to our vendors on fast moving products on top 50 money makers. For instance, if you are a vendor and you do not stock a particular product today, you will get to know about the products that are fast moving on the Jumia website, and then you can stock.

    Why should the Nigerian customers trust Jumia with their shopping this Black Friday?

    Since we started Black Friday 6 years ago, it has been a complete success. Black Friday didn’t exist in Nigeria at the time. Our mission has been to earn trust from our customers. Trust in this context goes beyond selling genuine products; trust also on the quality of things we offer during this Black Friday campaign. You can check on Google trends the peak that we reach during Black Fridays which is much more than any eCommerce platform in Nigeria. You can see the trust that customers have in us anytime we do Black Friday is a lot more than our initial Black Friday. Also, you can testify that what we we promise is what we deliver. All the products listed on the website have amazing pricing. Customers can actually trust us to give them the best offers, not only on the products they love, but also on the products they don’t plan to buy. But, because of the deals, they will eventually end up buying those products. So, finally I will say we look forward to welcoming you on our Jumia platform during Black Friday. And please download the Jumia App, you will see extra flash sales, extra discounts on the App during this Black Fridays period.

  • Walmart promises Black Friday deals

    Walmart Inc (WMT.N) at the weekend, said it would start offering holiday deals earlier as it prepares to compete with Amazon Inc AMZ.N, Target Corp (TGT.N) and other rivals for shoppers on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

    The company will offer Black Friday deals online on Thanksgiving eve – two hours earlier than in previous years – in order to give shoppers on the East Coast more shopping time earlier, executives said, and at its stores on Thanksgiving Day.

    The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will also have deals available on Walmart.com beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 8, the company said.

    Similar to in years past, key departments, like toys, electronics, home and apparel, will be color-coded in store so shoppers can easily find deals. The codes will be available on the retailer’s Black Friday circular and store maps.

    “Check Out With Me” associates – identifiable with a bright yellow sash – will also be placed in key areas of the store in an effort to make the shopping experience smoother.

    For years, Black Friday has marked the start of the holiday shopping season in the United States with retailers offering steep discounts. But its popularity has been on the wane with the rise of online shopping and inexpensive deals throughout the year.

    On Monday, Amazon said it would offer free shipping with no purchase minimum for the first time this holiday season, heating up the competition with Walmart Inc and Target, which in recent years have chipped away at Amazon’s lead with their own offers of free two-day shipping. While Walmart has maintained its $35 order threshold this holiday, Target has scrapped its minimum until Dec. 22.

  • Black Friday: Yudala promises best prices

    Nigeria’s pioneer online and offline e-commerce company, Yudala has restated its commitment to offer shoppers guaranteed best prices across its wide range of products online and in all Yudala stores nationwide during the Black Friday.

    Its Managing Director,  Wole Ogundare, said the company is committed to best prices and genuine products cannot be matched anywhere else in the market.

    He said: “At Yudala, our motivation is to help You Live Well. This explains our commitment to offering you guaranteed genuine products at the best prices in the market, whether online, offline in the stores or in the open market. For this year’s Black Friday which is being marked on Friday November 24, we have put together a wide assortment of products across various categories including home appliances, computing, electronics, mobile phones, lifestyle/consumer goods, power solutions, food, wines/spirits, among others.

    “We are not only offering you best prices across these product categories but Yudala is a pace-setter, so we are willing to take it even further. For Black Friday, if you find a lower price for a product certified as genuine by the OEM or a lower price than the OEM-approved price for a product we carry, we will refund you the difference.

    “This is proof that you can only get the best prices for all your shopping needs from Yudala. All you need to do is visit www.yudala.com or walk into any Yudala Store closest to you to enjoy our best price offerings.”

  • Ours is biggest Black Friday ever – Jumia Nigeria

    Ours is biggest Black Friday ever – Jumia Nigeria

    Jumia Nigeria has said its 2017 Black Friday Festival has attracted more than 14 million visits since the campaign started November 13. The annual sales event, which was initiated in Nigeria in 2013 by Jumia remains the busiest and largest shopping day of the year on both online and offline stores.

    Speaking on Wednesday, at a special forum to give update about the festival to reporters in Lagos, its CEO, Juliet Anammah, expressed gratitude to shoppers and partners for the unprecedented response to the festival, adding that it is symbolic of the trust they have for the brand.

    She said: “This year’s explosive Black Friday numbers demonstrates the increasing capacity and flexibility of the online retail space in Nigeria. We deliver to the 36 states across Nigeria, and are able to reach neighbourhoods and shoppers who traditionally have not had access to a wide variety of products and deals. This year we also see the increasing interest in groceries and other fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) which reflect the increasing relevance of Black Friday to the average Nigerian.”

    Unveiling the significant milestones achieved so far, she said more than 1.9 million people visited on Black Friday Big Bang while 14.4 million has visited since the start of the sales event.

    “Overall, 85 per cent of all visits were made on a mobile device, compared to 72 per cent in 2016; 86,000 smartphones and more have been sold in the past two weeks;

    380,000 – number of spaghetti packets that have shipped out; 208,214 – the number of times the Jumia app has been installed since the beginning of Black Friday festival; the top selling feature phone has been the Tecno T401 – (Triple Sim, Back Camera with Flash); while the items sold on Black Friday 2017 Big Bang day was 174 per cent more compared to the items sold last year,” Juliet said.

    She also announced a new partnership with Dangote Cement. “Dangote cement can now be bought on jumia.com.ng in three different quantities, available to ship to Jumia customers in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The cement will retail for N2,500 per bag,” she added.

    This year’s Jumia Black Friday Festival featured partnerships with Intel, Pampers, Infinix, Philips, Fero, HP, MTN and Air France-KLM.

    “For the first time, the shopping event featured a lottery giveaway with the grand prize of a brand new car courtesy of Coscharis Nigeria Limited. Another big first this year was the sale of premium cars at up to 60 per cent off, like the Range Rover Evoque Coupe and the Jaguar XE.

    FCMB is also sponsoring an extra 10per cent off on all orders above N5,000 that are paid for using an FCMB account on Jumia Pay.

    Filmhouse Cinemas also added excitement to the event by giving away a free cinema ticket to every Black Friday shopper who has a valid Jumia order number or invoice. In addition to this the first 1,000 customers to place Jumia Express orders everyday receive a complementary treat courtesy of McVities biscuits,” she said.

  • Black Friday: A festival of dark and shoddy deals?

    Black Friday: A festival of dark and shoddy deals?

    By Moses Emorinken

    The recent frenzy that permeated and circulated every space – from social, terrestrial and print media is simply amazing…all in the name of Black Friday.

    Online buyers impulsively cherry-pick items such as home appliances, groceries, electronics, phones and laptops, and other similar appurtenances; they do so with the hope of getting the best deals in prices for the year.

    However, their already wide and bright grins sagged as their expectations were dashed to the ground in an epic humpty dumpty style.

    According to research in Consumer Psychology, humans are known to be the most impulsive creatures in this massive terraqueous globe we call earth.

    Our excessive desire to satisfy our insatiable wants have become a major preoccupation making us hustle and toil day and night or even borrow money that we do not have, to purchase things we do not need, in order to impress people who really do not care about us.

    What a wasteful expedition!

    In Nigeria, e-commerce sites like Jumia, Konga, DealDey etc., are amongst some of the major players in the Black Friday saga.

    Black Friday have wrapped its thick dark sheets around us just like the heavens wrap the horizons of the sky with “black” clouds before sending down the rain; the rain in our case is the purported discount promised us by a lot of these sites.

    Little wonder it is called Black Friday because of the surreptitious hoax deployed to legitimately defraud customers of their hard-earned mazuma without them knowing.

    Customers have been wooed and lured to believe they would have a blast and slash in the prices of their favourite items. However, just like the majority of gullible teenage girls who get deflowered before they clock 18, Nigerian customers have had their hearts broken, hopes dashed, and expectations dulled and lulled by the failed promissory love notes from these Casanovas called e-commerce stores. This is reminiscent to “daylight” rape and robbery.

    How do you explain the rationale behind a product being sold during the discount period, which is more expensive than it was a few weeks ago?

    They even have the effrontery to paste a former price against a discounted price and percentage off – we should be grateful…shey!?

    This is the case of Sharon: A customer who found a product on one of our popular e-commerce website. She identified the product, saw the price and took note of it; only to wait till black Friday to find that the product which she saw barely 2 weeks ago at N3,000 is now N4,000 at a “supposed” discounted price. This is absurd!

    Sometimes, what is most personal is most general; it’s almost certain that Sharon’s pitiable Black Friday story is the same narrative for so many Nigerian customers.

    Please, somebody help me…why call it ‘Black Friday’ when the promo lasts from a certain date to end on another date very distant from the start date; why call it Black Friday, why not Black Weekend?

    How do you call a bonanza period which lasts for days “Black Friday”? Meaning it was designed to start and end on that day (Friday) – not a second more. What we find today is a twisted narrated and semantics for a day of the week to be equivalent to the entire week or even more.

    Is someone trying to play on our intelligence?

    Haven’t we suffered enough from sleazy and corrupt politicians and government officials whose job description is to loot our collective patrimony all in the name of giving us the dividends of democracy?

    I think the new narrative should be that they (politicians) have promised to give us a Black Friday (instead of dividends of democracy) because Black Friday in Nigeria is reminiscent to exploitation.

    No wonder my friend’s grandmother never liked the idea of Black Friday (not because she is old-school), because regardless of the many good that comes with the day as practiced internationally, here in Nigerian, it is merely a show and a bauble.

    Locally, especially in the Yoruba parlance, one can literally translate it to – “Oja Ale”; meaning night market.

    A well-grounded and cultural person knows that nothing good really comes from Oja Ale.

    For those that are already primed to mould and throw balls of accusations at the writer, did you know that e-commerce websites in Nigeria usually rake in billions of Naira in turnover this period than they normally would in a quarter (three months) of their business year?

    It is certainly a festival of dark, black and shoddy transactions at the expense of the majority of the Nigerian people.

    It is high time the Consumer Protection Council ( CPC ) stepped up its game and live up to its mandate of protecting the people from heartless and unscrupulous bourgeoisies who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

    Dear Nigerians, please think twice before picking those items from your favourite e-commerce stores; it is sometimes advisable to walk into a physical store to price and pick the items of your choice that you need and not being manipulated online to impulsively pick items that you don’t need, at a very exploitative price.

    Be wise!

  • Shoprite offers discounts in black Friday sales

    Shoprite offers discounts in black Friday sales

    As the festive season and end-of-year holidays get underway, Africa’s biggest retail giant Shoprite is said to be preparing to deliver an unbelievable Black Friday promotion.

    Read Also: Shoprite celebrates 22 winners of brand new cars

    Shoprite is using this opportunity to bring customers the special experience they look forward to all year; whether it’s stocking up on gifts for family and loved ones for the holidays or finding something to reward people at the end of the year. All items, the retail giant says, will be sold at up to 50 per cent discount.