Shoppers set for Black Friday
THE mother of all sales, Black Friday, is hours away and bargain hunters are planning and strategising on how best to stretch their rands.
At least 90 Game stores will open at midnight, with its Black Friday catalogue already being leaked online. It had specials on television sets, cameras, fridges, washing machines and sound systems.
Makro has chosen to run Black Friday specials from today (Wednesday) until Sunday with over 26 000 items on promotion.
Trishka Mothilal, 28, a financial adviser of Morningside, has saved R10 000 and is hoping the GoPro camera she has set her sights on, among other gadgets, will go on sale. Being a girly girl, no day of shopping, she said, would be complete without buying shoes.
But Mothilal will not attempt to visit shopping malls during the one-day frenzy, preferring to make her purchases online and as early as possible.
“As much as I love great bargains, I can do without waiting in long queues. There are times when the websites crash, because of the sheer volume of people using certain sites, but at least I can move onto another site, without having to waste either time, energy or petrol.”
Phoenix law student Bernice Somiah is prepared to forego sleep for a cyber shopping experience.
“I’m looking at bargains on clothing, games and upgrading my cellphone. I hope Vodacom has some good deals.”
Her preferred sites include Spree, Zando, Takealot, and Superbalist.
Raj Moodley, of Newlands West, does not fear to brave the mall mayhem.
For the past three years, Game has been his retail store of choice.
“In 2015, I bought 40 litres of two-litre cooldrink for my daughter’s wedding. Each customer was limited to taking six bottles, so I had to take two others along to help.”
He wants to stock up on cooldrink again and hopes to find a gas braai set.
IT specialist Dereshni Govender, of Phoenix, needs a fridge.
“Black Friday is a great opportunity for people to buy items they would not ordinarily be able to afford at full price, so I’m hoping to get a great deal on Friday.”
According to Salesforce, 42% of Black Friday 2017 online orders were placed on a smartphone with 49% on a desktop or laptop.
Karl Hammerschmidt, CEO of e-retailer RunwaySale, said Black Friday played a major role in boosting sales and consequently helped the local economy.
“It will be a welcome relief for cashstrapped consumers and it will also help increase sales in what has been a challenging year for retailers.”
Economist, John Loos, added: “The sale has become quite popular, but in many instances, I suspect that it merely brings forward some of the retail sales that would have taken place in the typically strong December festive season. The reality is that South Africa has a low savings rate, implying that consumers spend most of what they earn and the economy currently puts their earnings growth under pressure.”
Loos advised shoppers to consider the lengthy festive season before overspending.
● Food: Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Woolworths
● Home/Lifestyle: Clicks, Game and Makro
● Online: Loot, Takealot.com, RunwaySale, Superbalist and Zando
Source: Business Insider South Africa
Kelly Dido of Capitec Bank said R2.4 billion worth of transactions were expected to take place on the day.
“When more than 4.7 million card transactions were processed in 2017, with a bill of R2.4 billion worth of debit and credit card transactions, South African’s are urged to be smart this year. Buy what you need and not what you think you need.”
Black Friday is popular in the US and signals the start of Christmas shopping. Over the past five years, it has gained momentum in SA.