It wasn’t long ago that our first sale around Christmas was Boxing Day, and our Santa sacks were filled with gifts bought for the full price. Now, November is a shopping bonanza for consumers with Black Friday kicking off the day after Thanksgiving quickly followed by Cyber Monday.
For many retailers, the sales even begin a week earlier with a host of aggressive deals on much loved items. So it makes sense to make the most of the sales particularly with the growing need to be financially savvy given interest rates and inflation on the rise.
Now Australia’s major buy now, pay later company Zip Co has made it easier to cash in on November’s festival of sales with a new partnership with eBay, Australia’s most-visited shopping platform.
The ability to pay for purchases in monthly instalments is a great way to shop and budget this Christmas by spreading payments particularly on bigger household items.
Cynthia Scott, the MD for ANZ of Zip, said: “Zip is passionate about helping Australians spend with confidence on the things that matter most to them, and this alliance gives eBay shoppers access to fairer and more flexible ways to pay at check out – whether it be for everyday items using Zip Pay or bigger ticket items with Zip Money.”
eBay Australia’s Managing Director David Ramadge said: “With the introduction of Zip Money, eBay customers can enjoy 6 months interest free for items like luxury handbags, high-value electronics like smartphones or even car parts. eBay is the home of great value for money – all in one, easy location.”
Among the latest shopping trends, Cynthia said while the pandemic drove shoppers to increase online spending, now there is a resurgence in shoppers returning to stores.
“In the last 12 months, around 60% of our customers have been shopping online, and 40% have been shopping in store,” she adds.
Here, Cynthia and her team from Zip have provided the top tips for being a savvy shopper.
Best saving tips
If you don’t get paid consistently, a product like Zip Pay can help manage your cash flow as you can pay back interest free over time.
Flexible repayment schedules – weekly, fortnightly or monthly – also mean you can smooth expenses over payment cycles.
Zip offers cashback rewards. In fact, in 2021, customers redeemed more than $2million in cashback, saving them money on their shopping.
Zip Pay is interest free unlike credit cards. In fact, a recent report from the Australian Finance Industry Association, BIS Oxford Economics and RFI Global showed 48% of Buy Now, Pay Later users do not own a credit card. The report, based on data from the eight largest BNPL players, said that more than half of customers preferred BNPL over credit cards because they pay no interest.
For more tips on savvy shopping, check out The Carousel’s story on Black Friday Aussie Style and for the five best tech deals for Black Friday, click here.
