The 12.12 Routine

Have you been schooled on how to make your way through Black Friday and 11.11 Sales without suffering casualties in where instead of lives it’s your dollars? In that case, your 12.12 routine shouldn’t be any different. Prudent planning and impulse-management are key because let’s be real, even your decision-making skills can go out the window once impulse kicks in and you’ll be stuck with a bunch of clothes or a large TV that you won’t even need.

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK
   Unless you have Victoria Beckham money or Jeff Bezos’ otherworldly immense wealth, always do your research and due diligence to avoid spending money on things that you don’t need or worse, things that will end up disappointing you! Whether it is a new bag or a new toaster, not everything is built the same! That Celine Mini Belt Bag in Light Taupe Grained Calfskin would make you think she’s the best purchase you’ve made in 2024 but come a few days the bag would lose its shape and the edges of the straps would have slight peeling when it has only been less than a year of use! Before you make that purchase, take a beat, evaluate your wants or needs and consider your other options to avoid any disappointment. A waste of money no matter how small is still money wasted!
   
   
2. Compare prices
   The item you want from a particular store might have a sweet 20% off but the same product can also be found elsewhere with a much higher discount. Before you start clamouring, that was merely a hypothetical but you can’t ignore that the possibility of scoring a much more amazing deal is there! Try scouring the digital landscape and explore places like Lazada or Shopee to find out if what you’re looking for is available with the best deals and offers possible. Sometimes, a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon or the uber-sleek LG 49WL95C-W might seem attractive enough for you purchase them right off their main website, but do check out the 2 aforementioned popular e-commerce platforms to make sure you’re getting the best prices out there as both Shopee and Lazada might have the occasional discounts and vouchers to be redeemed for discounts and more.
   
   
3. Keep an eye for early-bird discounts and promos
   Sometimes, with great sales...comes great early-bird promotions. During one of the previous ASOS Black Friday Sales, the British fast-fashion giant released an amazing sale exactly a week before Black Friday itself where you can savour discounts as hefty as 45% off as a  ‘warm-up’ of sorts before the real Black Friday Sale starts. Check out your favourite retailers and e-commerce platforms a few days or weeks leading up to 12.12 as they might have sales and bits of promo codes drifting here and there waiting to be discovered and thoroughly enjoyed by you. It is also important that you don’t expend all your ammunition and going all out on these teaser sales as you might end up with little and insufficient resources to enjoy the 12.12 Sale which is the star of the show!
   
   
4. Simplify your shopping experience with Saleduck
   Never heard of Saleduck? Take this as a learning opportunity and head on over to their website to discover discount codes and other awesome deals to save you the time and energy of scouring far and wide for the best deals. Saleduck curates deals and promo codes so you don’t have to sift through Reddit threads and other channels for the latest scoops on the best deals available! With over 200 active retailers and brands including popular ones such as the likes of Lazada, Sephora, Shopee, and more, you can be sure to find the best deals for your favourite stores on Saleduck! You can also sign up for Saleduck’s newsletter to get your hands on the latest deals and the occasional exclusive promo codes to enrich your shopping experience. If there’s one thing better than finding awesome killer deals, it’s finding them without even trying! Additionally, you can subscribe to Saleduck’s push engage to receive one of the many killer deals that are active at the given time straight into your device! 
   
   
5. Checkout
   Once you have everything you need, i.e; a proper plan and promo code if available, you can seal the deal by moving on to the checkout page. Since you’ve made a well-informed decision, there shouldn’t be any reason for you to not go through with your purchase. There’s nothing worse than procrastinating on shopping(who would even but it happens!) and then realizing that you’ve missed out on what could’ve been the best purchase you would ever make for this particular period of time! To quote Marilyn Monroe. “Happiness is not in money, but in shopping."

12.12 Sale Shopping Hotspots

11.11 is a major event in China, Black Friday is that massive shopping day that comes after Turkey Day, and Cyber Monday is...well, Cyber Monday, but what about 12.12 and how do you find retailers who are known for their killer 12.12 Sale? 

1. Shopee
   

   If there’s an e-commerce platform that has presence during the 12.12 sales, Shopee would be one of them. Shopee is known for their 12.12 Birthday Sale where they feature SGD12 deals, SGD12 minimum shipping, 12% off, and more. Take the opportunity to even shop for Christmas gifts for your loved ones. Anything that’s currently trending or hot in the market? They might be available on Shopee! With the recent buzz surrounding CeraVe products thanks to dermatologists who happen to have platforms on TikTok, CeraVe is one of the hottest brands that are highly searched for on Google worldwide and where else can you get them in Singapore if it’s not from Shopee? You can also see that Shopee also hosts major brands such as Dyson, Samsung, Lenovo, HP, Razer and many others where you can find their flagship stores. If you’re lucky enough, you can almost get the same product but at a slightly lower price or with higher discount as well as faster shipping compared to the ones on their own dedicated website. 
   
   
   
   
   

2. Lazada
   

   Black Friday and Cyber Monday have Amazon, but Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia have Lazada. Informally known as Amazon’s Asian counterpart, Lazada is one of the, if not the top e-commerce platform in Singapore as well as the rest of Southeast Asia. While Shopee is known for wholesalers and specializing in smaller items, Lazada is the place to be if you’re looking for large items such as large appliances like refrigerators and others! You can also find awesome deals on mostly electronics on Lazada compared to anywhere else!
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Lookfantastic
   

   Lookfantastic is your go-to during 12.12 when you’re looking for skincare and beauty products that are more targeted towards die-hard beauty enthusiasts and skincare connoisseurs! Brands that are available on Lookfantastic include NIOD, Elemis, Farmacy, Murad, and many others! These are the names you would hear from those who appreciate exceptional formulation as well as the science behind the said formulations rather than marketing or spending money solely on name-brands. Unlike other beauty retailers, Lookfantastic is quite the charitable character in terms of discounts and promo codes. Payday? Check. Chinese New Year? Yes. Black Friday? You got it. 11.11? Of course. Random days? Definitely, those declining discounts are something to look forward to. Your mother’s birthday? Well, maybe not but the possibility is still there given the abundance of tempting deals floating about. This beauty retailer is also one of the best places when it comes to shopping for a somewhat specific product or brands that are normally not available in Singapore or widely known. You have Korres if you love Greek botanicals and scents in your shower gels, Omorovicza and ESPA for that luxe sensual spa experience, Medik8 for their cutting-edge retinals and retinol to elevate your anti-ageing skincare routine(just make sure to put on sunscreen during the day!).
   
   
   
   
   
   

4. Pomelo Fashion
   

   Founded by David Jou, Win Thanapisitikul, and Casey Liang, and launched in 2013, Pomelo is a modern fashion brand born in Asia with a global mindset: on-trend, online, on-the-go. Unlike other fast-fashion brands, Pomelo Fashion’s design team constantly observes fashion trends in Seoul and New York before integrating them to cater to the Asian market. Pomelo Fashion also works directly with suppliers to ensure materials and quality meet their requirements as well as maintaining quality control. The sales that go on over at Pomelo Fashion are also something many people and fashion lovers look forward to with ample discounts and juicy promo codes that knock off huge chunks of the cart total for your fashion hauls. With 12.12 sales being a hot event in Asia, Pomelo Fashion’s name with vivid and edgy visuals will definitely garner your attention!
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. Zalora
   

   Zalora is no longer a name that goes unrecognized in the e-commerce realm. If you’ve ever spent time browsing for clothes online, you would probably come across ads for Zalora on ad spaces and even on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Zalora is one of the top contenders alongside Lazada and Shopee to fight for the number 1 spot as the top e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia. If you’re familiar with Zalora, then you must be familiar with their regular discounts and abundance of promo codes every other day or week. With 12.12 around the corner, you can expect to see more killer deals from Zalora and more opportunities to save large amounts of money when you go on about your retail therapy! The Zalora Singapore 12.12 Sale is definitely something you should keep an eye out for!
   
   
   

Gearing for 12.12 and for Year-End

Online shopping is all fun and games until your credit card information and personal details fall into the wrong hands with all the other malicious denizens lurking on the Internet with highly questionable intentions. Read our blog post about combatting cyberfraud and hacks to not get hacked to get all the right tips for you to shop securely.

Whether you are shopping online on your laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or perhaps even on one of those Samsung smart refrigerators, be sure to stay protected with the Norton Antivirus now to avoid an even bigger mishap than a pulverized bank account!

Now that you’ve been schooled on the ins and outs of 12.12 Singapore as well as staying protected online, you would surely have a strong understanding and idea of how to manoeuvre your way and wallet through those juicy 12.12 sales. With this annoying pandemic going around, saving every little bit of money helps especially since you are more likely to engage in retail therapy now more than ever(we don’t blame, because who doesn’t love a good shopping spree). Just make sure you don’t miss out on what could’ve been your best purchase of 2024!