South Africa is in the grip of Black Friday fever as retailers and shoppers are preparing themselves for a scrum that would put the Springboks best efforts to shame. It may be a concept that came from the US, but South Africans have adopted it as their own and the retailers are rubbing their palms in anticipation of the cash that is going to flow in. Some like Makro are even offering Uber discounts to shoppers. The Police have warned that danger could be lurking in the day as thieves are out and about as well, and have asked shoppers to take care of their children. But are the goods advertised as massive discounts really such a bargain? Studies in both the United States and the United Kingdom have found that the best deals are actually not on Black Friday. Which? a consumer group in the UK found that only 4 of 83 products they studied were cheaper during the Black Friday promotion, that is less than 5%. The advice that Which? has, that could be valuable for South African shoppers, is that you should not buy on impulse; look at the prices from previous days. If there is a big ticket item that  you want to buy like a television or a computer, study the prices beforehand to make sure you are buying a bargain. Jo Craven McGinty writes in the Wall Street Journal how shopping websites use "dark patterns to exploit online shoppers' emotions, insecurities and biases." That last one available whether online or lying in the basket before you could unleash your inner competitive demon and you may actually be paying more than you should. – Linda van Tilburg

Tricks online retailers use to get you to spend more

By Jo Craven McGinty

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