Black Friday! You’ve heard of it, you may have even shopped for deals. This major shopping holiday originated in America more than 50 years ago. It is the day after Thanksgiving and is traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday was coined as most retailers found themselves in the “black” after the sales spike following the Thanksgiving holiday.
What does Black Friday mean in South Africa?
South Africans have completely embraced Black Friday over the past 10 years. Takealot was the first online retailer to debut Black Friday back in 2012, it has since grown and is a much-anticipated shopping day. A study revealed that 70% of South Africans will shop the festive sales if the price is right. When looking at Black Friday search volume the same study reported that South Africa ranked equal 27th with Austria for Black Friday search volumes globally. There was an increase of 22% between 2019 and 2020.
Black Friday takes place on the 4th Friday in November. It is interesting that most South Africans are aware of Black Friday but don’t know the exact date and therefore there is an increased number of searches closer to the time. If you are one of those South Africans, mark your calendar as this year it falls on the 26th November 2021.
In recent years Black Friday has transformed into what is known as Black November with many retailers releasing deals for an entire month. Major retailers and manufacturers now start planning earlier to ensure that stock has arrived on time and they can fulfil the earlier festive season demand.
Where would you find the best specials?
Being the first day of the festive shopping it’s best to know where to get the best deals.
GFK reported that in 2020 online sales accounted for 53% of total sales. Browse all the best Black Friday specials 2021, plan your shopping or risk losing out on some great specials.
Look out for Hirsch’s unlocking weekly deals from the 4th of November.
Game will be launching the ‘Price Beat Promise’ for November. They have also reported that there will be never-to-be-repeated weekly deals that will run for the entire month.
If you don’t want to miss out on these and other great deals, keep an eye out for the latest catalogues with your Black Friday bargains.
What did Black Friday look like in 2020?
Traditionally stores open at midnight for those eager shoppers looking to snag the best deal. In 2020, Covid-19 and lockdown regulations meant that many shoppers opted to go online.
This move however still saw a decline in transactions compared to 2019. Bankservafrica reported that the number of transactions was down -33% from Black Friday 2019 where they reached a record-breaking 7 million. More credit card transactions were seen than debit cards which leads one to believe that consumers are willing to purchase on credit to save.
Which shops are most popular?
In 2020 Finder.com listed Takealot as the go-to destination for most shoppers looking for deals online. When listing the top 5 most searched retailers according to the Ahrefs search volume data, Game, Makro, Takealot, Checkers, and Pick n Pay came out on top.
According to GFK reports, sales of aspirational items like washer-dryers, 42” TV’s and side-by-side fridges all increased in 2019 vs 2020. This can be attributed to consumers being more cognisant of how they spend their money with the pandemic having an impact on many family’s financial situations.
The question remains though, are the discounts real? Are you saving by waiting for these deals? Simply put it is definitely worth the wait. Many retailers offer goods at cost and sometimes below cost. Beware though, you should know that the psychology of Black Friday is essentially to get you to buy things you don’t need. With this in mind, you should start planning and researching the best deals and plan out your shopping.