Delivery problems and false advertising are already emerging as the main challenges of this Black Friday, the shopping season that marks this Friday (28). The preliminary balance was released by the Reclame AQUI platform, which gathers complaints from buyers and is used to check the reputation of stores at the time of purchase.
The monitoring, referring to this Wednesday (26) and Thursday (27), shows that delivery problems lead the ranking of complaints, accounting for 25.29% of all records.
The most frequent complaints involve promises of “delivery in 2 hours”, “same day delivery” or “express shipping”. According to Reclame AQUI, these are benefits widely used as a commercial lure, but which are not fulfilled in practice, repeating a pattern observed in previous editions of the promotion season.
In second place in the ranking is the “product not received” problem, with 12.62% of complaints. Reclame AQUI draws attention to a recurring scenario: consumers who believe they have only faced a delay, but discover that the purchased item never existed or was not even dispatched.
The third position is occupied by “misleading advertising”, responsible for 9.33% of the complaints analyzed. Reports show that many stores advertise attractive conditions that are changed at the time of finalization of the purchase, frustrating the consumer.
Among the practices that have generated dissatisfaction are “aggressive discounts” with unclear rules, which include value limitations, validity restricted to certain regions or requirements for payment methods that nullify the advertised benefit.
According to Reclame AQUI, these subtexts end up going unnoticed amid the fast pace of shopping on this day.
Market heating
Also according to Reclame AQUI, since August, the number of undecided consumers has fallen: from 76% to 36%. Now, 31% say they will buy on Black Friday. In August, it was just 10%. Another 33% say they do not intend to make purchases on that date. The majority (69%), however, still conditions any decision on prices and promotions.
The data also shows that consumers are cautious. Although 63% point to price as a decisive factor, purchases are no longer determined solely by discounts. Consumers also consider: shipping cost (29%); reviews from other consumers (27%); brand reputation (23%); payment terms (16%); and security against scams and fraud (17%).
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also a concern: 76% feel insecure or suspicious about scams made with AI; 63% do not know how to identify this type of scam; and 56% know someone who has already fallen for technology scams.
Recommendations
The platform makes some recommendations to consumers to avoid problems with purchases. Among them, check the delivery time and research the companies you intend to buy from. Furthermore, it is recommended to take screenshots of the shopping cart and carefully review the final payment.
