Black Friday is here! Actually it isn’t, but you would be forgiven for thinking it was. I’ve certainly had to check twice, based on the number of recent emails I’ve received with the subject ‘Black Friday’.
‘Black Friday Comes Early!’ ‘Early Access to Black Friday!’ ‘Boost Your Black Friday Shopping!’ ‘50 per cent off Black Friday!’
Those are the titles of just a few of the emails that have landed in my inbox in the past three days. (I found the last of those confusing. If they’ve taken ‘50 per cent off Black Friday’, does that mean it will only last 12 hours?)
On a serious note, there will no doubt be some great bargains to be found this Friday. If you’re in the market for an appliance, savings can stretch into the hundreds of dollars. However, not every mention of ‘Black Friday’ necessarily translates to a great shopping experience, be it in person or online.
Before you make your decision to buy, take a moment to stop and think – especially where appliances are concerned.
Safeguard your Black Friday experience
Fortunately consumer advocate and watchdog CHOICE has come along at just the right time, releasing it’s ‘Best and worst appliance stores of 2024’. Feedback from over 3500 customers has been used to provide rankings of price, product range, customer service and more.
For those who like the old-fashioned experience of buying in person, CHOICE found a clear winner. However, that win comes with a caveat. Apart from a single store in Canberra, the retailer in question – E&S Trading – only has stores in Victoria.
If you’re lucky enough to be within reach of them this Black Friday, you can expect to be impressed by E&S Trading’s range of products, brands and delivery service. And they won’t forget you after the deal is done, either. Their after-sales service was widely praised by customers.
Those of you not in Victoria or the ACT might do well to visit Retravision, Winnings Appliances and/or Betta. CHOICE customers scored those three retailers well overall, particularly when it came to customer service and value for money.
At the bottom end of the ranking scale came K Mart, Big W and, perhaps surprisingly, Myer. This trio rated lower than other stores in most categories. Both K Mart and Big W rated very low for customer service, something I must admit does not surprise me.
As someone who remembers shopping there in the 1980s, the comparison with the 2020s experience is stark. Forty years ago you could find help within a few steps. These days I can sometimes wander the entire store without seeing a K Mart staff member.
Myer did not rank well for customer service either, but the main criticism was poor value for money.
What about online stores?
Such experiences are what might drive you towards buying products online instead. Although there are on Black Friday specials to be had, I prefer to see big items like appliances ‘IRL’, as the kids say these days. (‘IRL’ is social media talk for ‘in real life’.)
Still, if you know the exact item you’re looking for, an online purchase can be simpler and sometimes even quicker.
In fact, it was delivery that helped Appliances Online to top the table of 10 online retailers CHOICE customers ranked. Their delivery rating of 90 per cent outstripped even Amazon Australia (87 per cent). A distant third in delivery was Bing Lee, at 77 per cent.
Appliances Online ranked highly in every measured aspect, making it a clear overall winner with customers. With a combined overall score of 86 per cent, it finished well clear of second-placed Amazon’s 78 per cent. JB and Bing Lee tied for third with a 73 per cent score.
The lowest scoring online retailers were Kogan (59 per cent), Harvey Norman (64 per cent) and The Good Guys (66 per cent).
Make your Black Friday a good Friday
By all means seek out a bargain during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. But before you do, make sure your purchase really is a bargain, and if customer service is important to you, check out the new CHOICE appliance retailers report.
Do you look forward to the Black Friday sales? What bargains have you found in previous years? Let us know via the comments section below.
Also read: Black Friday TV sale warning for consumers
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