Blog » PayFast’s top 4 Black Friday tips for shoppers

PayFast’s top 4 Black Friday tips for shoppers

2020 has definitely been one for the books with COVID-19, lockdown, loadshedding, you name it. One thing that we can all be thankful for, however, is how ecommerce has been the saving grace for shoppers offering a convenient and safe method of retail therapy. 

As we fast approach the busiest shopping weekend of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we’ve asked some of our experienced Customer Services team members for advice on what shoppers can do to make sure they get the most out of their online shopping experience. The tips below are based on years worth of experience in assisting shoppers and merchants with queries related to Black Friday.

1. Search for the best online deals 

Do your research to adequately prepare ahead of the Black Friday weekend to determine which online stores you’ll be buying from. The best way to do this is to try and find merchants who are already advertising their Black Friday deals on social media, then to follow them and sign up to their newsletters to get updates about their specials. 

Once you have a list of your favourite online stores, compare them to see which one is offering the best Black Friday deals. This way you can prioritise what items you need and stay in budget. You can also bookmark your favourite online stores for easy access on Black Friday to purchase the items you want. 

2. Do background research on the merchant

Once you’ve narrowed down your Black Friday shopping list, go through the following checklist for each of the online stores you want to buy from:

  • Google the online store to find honest customer reviews about their products and reputation
  • Check the website’s contact details in case you need to send them a query about your order
  • Review their delivery information and their terms and conditions (T&Cs), especially with regards to their return and refunds policy 

3. Make sure you are able to make online payments  

If Black Friday 2020 will be the first time you plan on shopping online, it’s important to check with your bank that your credit or cheque card has been activated for online banking and authorised for 3D Secure online payment processing.

When checking out on an online store that uses PayFast, there’s a chance that they’ll offer a few of our supported payment methods, so it could be worthwhile familiarising yourself with the different options so you can be prepared in case your first payment choice has issues over Black Friday. 

4. Confirm all of your details are correct at checkout 

During the checkout process, before you complete any payment make sure that all of your details, including credit card information and delivery address are correct. This will help prevent any delays with your delivery and cater for the best Black Friday experience. 

Last but not least, whether you shop online or choose to visit a physical store on Black Friday, stay calm and be respectful to any staff you encounter as it’ll be a busy and stressful time for all. 

The PayFast team will be working extended hours over the Black Friday weekend to make sure that all online payments are processed efficiently and swiftly. If you have any PayFast shopper related queries that the online store can’t assist with, take a look at our extensive knowledge base for answers to your questions. 

To see what advice our Customer Service’s team gave merchants for Black Friday, read this blog. To stay up to date with all the latest PayFast news and updates, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.