Shopee, one of Singapore’s largest online marketplace, will be bringing the frenzy of the Black Friday sales, right up to us. And with Cyber Monday happening immediately after the weekend, shoppers have plenty of reasons to look forward to!
Vowing to unveil the best deals ever in this yearly event at 12pm on Friday November 25 – and not a minute earlier – Shopee goes head first with their flash sale promising discounts of up to 80%, at a price below its market cost.
The flash sale will run hourly from 12pm over two days on Black Friday (25 Nov) and Cyber Monday (28 Nov).
If you haven’t downloaded the Shopee app, it’s about time to do so! Familiarize yourself with how the app works and at the same time look out for the daily giveaways on their official account in-app
Now that November 11 is over, there’s another day that savvy shoppers look forward to. Black Friday on November 25.
Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year in the US because it is an opportunity to cash in on some of the biggest savings of the year. From smartphones and television, to beauty products and household products, consumer take advantage of this 24 hours sale on 25 November. There’d be retailers extending the sale over the next few days to Cyber Monday and some over two weeks.
What about Singapore?
Black Friday has only gained traction in Singapore in recent years but don’t expect it to be as crazy as in the US. Sure there will be sales, but to score the best deals, you’d have to look elsewhere. By elsewhere we do not mean going to the next store in the mall but going right up to the origin of the source — in the US.
Top stores international bargain hunters shopped online at:
Amazon.com
Adidas
Gap
Forever 21
ASOS
Nordstrom
Drugstore.com
Newegg
Neiman Marcus
6PM
Tips on how to shop Black Friday
1. Prepare a wish list a few days before
Black Friday officially starts on the midnight of 25th November EST/PST in the US. That’s 1PM or 4PM in Singapore on 25 November. You don’t want to start shopping when everyone starts carting out the sale items, so prepare a few days ahead and add them in the shopping cart. Check out when the sales officially start to prevent them from going out of stock.
2. Make use of international delivery service providers
Some US retailers don’t offer international shipping (even on Amazon.com), so that’s when things get a little tricky. You can use parcel forwarding services like vPost and comGateway that provide you with a US shipping address. But you won’t know the shipping costs till they have received your parcels.
A more convenient way is to use Uskoop. Uskoop has recently launched in Singapore that takes care of everything for you from the purchasing to the shipping and insurance. You don’t even need a US address since every orders will go through them, making shopping a breeze. Plus, you get your shipping instantly and much cheaper than the merchant’s direct shipping fees. (that is if they ship to you!)
3. Know what and where to shop
Most electronics, apparels and toys are cheaper in the US than in Singapore since distributors import these goods and sell them at markup price in the brick-and-mortar stores.
a. Laptops
A 13″ HP Envy i7 laptop costs about S$1499 in Singapore but you can get the same for US$809.99 on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, this item does not ship to Singapore. Thanks to Uskoop, you can now ship it to Singapore for S$1307.25 after including shipping and handling fees. Add the GST and you’d still be better off buying from Amazon.com.
This LEGO City Fire Station set costs S$179.99 on Toys ‘R’ Us. On Amazon.com, it costs US$63.99 or S$154.27 after including shipping and handling fee.
d. Apparels
Brands like H&M, Michael Kors, Forever 21, Tory Burch, Adidas and Nike are definitely not sitting this one out. Expect great savings with huge discounts on their Black Friday sale this weekend.
This Faux Suede Moto Jacket from Forever 21 is a Black Friday Special and you can only purchase it at their official site for US$25. To ship it to Singapore, however, it will cost you an additional US$38 for shipping. That doesn’t make sense when you are paying more for the shipping.
You can however check out with Uskoop for a more reasonable shipping and handling fee at S$18.26.
4. Use right credit card to maximize your savings with cashbacks & more discounts
There are many cards that offer cashback on your online purchase. The Standard Chartered SingPost Platinum Card offers 7% cashback on eligible online purchase. In addition, the OCBC Frank Card offers 6% cashback on online shopping.
The DBS Live Fresh Card provides 5% cashback on online purchases as well as 3 DBS Points per S$5 spent online. For those holding the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card can get up to 10X UNI$^ (or 4 Miles) on online shopping and entertainment!
Using the right card means stretching every shopping dollar.
5. Shop smarter and quicker with a click of a button
There will be thousands of retailers in the US and UK that will be slashing price on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Keeping tab of many retailers and carting out at the same time can be exasperating. What if you can do your shopping and consolidate your cart all in one click?
Uskoop Assistant lets you shop smarter and quicker online — all in just one click. It is a nifty plugin for your browser that automatically consolidate your shopping from different merchants in one place. It also shows you the total cost including the shipping and handling fees converted to Singapore Dollars, fuss-free!
Simply download the Chrome/Firefox plugin and start shopping!
Found an item you like? Click on the Uskoop icon and it will be automatically show up on Uskoop!
Uskoop provides free shipping to your local address and also free insurance coverage for every single order! No more worrying about your item getting lost in transit.
If you want to avoid shopping crowds and busy stores, why not shop online? You can easily experience hassle-free shopping and still get the best discounts, if you know when and where to shop. If you don’t want to miss out on the biggest discounts of the year, make sure you keep yourself updated with the most popular shopping events in Singapore.
The Great Singapore Sale (GSS)
Dates: 29 May – 26 July
There’s no better time to be a bit more carefree with money than during the Great Singapore Sale (GSS). Acclaimed Singapore’s biggest sale of the year, GSS is one of the top shopping holidays for both retailers and customers. Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), official organiser of the event, teamed up with MasterCard to provide Singaporeans with amazing opportunities to save money during the festival – shoppers are invited to use dedicated coupon codes and discounts on flights, hotel accommodation, fashion, electronics and various online services. The festival is full of attractive events, including Singapore Restaurant Month, International Jewellery Expo or Food Festival. What’s most important though, promotions live up to customer’s expectations – you can get even 70% off on a wide range of products. In addition, customers who participate in the event can enter daily giveaways and stand a chance to win daily prizes (detailed information can be found on the event’s official website).
The Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF)
Dates: 02 – 04 February
Created by Google, The Great Online Shopping Festival came to Singapore right after its commercial success in India. The idea behind the event was to convince online retailers and shopping platforms to release great discounts in order to push their sales. Google partners with big ecommerce sites and shopping websites who will provide a special promotional offer for these two days only – coupon codes, gifts with purchases, free shipping, extra off sales, competitions and much more. GOSF is also supported by DBS and SingPost who joined the organiser to facilitate the participation in the event. In result, shoppers are spoilt with a massive number of promotion codes applicable via website or mobile devices and are offered a huge range of discounted services and products that are equally satisfactory. The shopping festival lasts only two days but it’s filled with opportunities to save money and win prizes on a daily basis. Shoppers must act quickly not to miss out.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Dates: 27 – 30 November
Those two major shopping events and the busiest shopping days of the year originated in the USA and quickly gained great international popularity. Black Friday and its online counterpart Cyber Monday provide retailers with an opportunity to increase sales before Christmas and customers with a chance to save money and do some early shopping on a budget. Even though Singaporeans invented their own version of Cyber Monday – GOSF – these shopping events are still celebrated by a number of local online retailers. Cross-border shoppers should stay tuned and keep their eyes wide opened, especially if they plan to seek bargains from outside of Singapore. Plenty of online retailers release free worldwide delivery codes so that international consumers can also benefit and make some savings during sales period.
Participate in the Singapore’s online shopping craze from the comfort of your home and spoil yourself, as these events will bring you the best that online shopping has to offer.
The impatient bargain hunters can visit Picodi.sg and browse a wide range of online coupons to Singapore’s online stores. The website updates its listing of coupons on a daily basis, so grab a deal and start shopping!
