Black Friday – the American-born commercial holiday celebrated annually on the day after Thanksgiving – has gained significant local traction in recent years. From revenue of just under R2,5-billion in 2017, to almost R2,9-billion in 2018, last year saw total South African spend on Black Friday more than double to a whopping R6-billion.
While many deals in years gone by have been exclusive to brick-and-mortar stores, this year is likely to be a little different as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Matthew Leighton, spokesperson from e-tailer OneDayOnly.co.za. “It’s safe to say that most consumers will be choosing to shop online this year, based on the recent boom South African e-commerce has experienced.”
The “boom” Leighton is referring to was confirmed by a recent Nielsen study on the impact of Covid-19 on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail, which found that 68% of South African consumers have reduced their frequency of visiting physical supermarkets, while 37% of South African consumers increased their online shopping activity.
“But with everyone going online this year, the virtual Black Friday competition is going to be fierce,” notes Leighton.
To help shoppers avoid disappointment, he shared the following quick tips:
* Do your due diligence – Novice online buyers and not-so-seasoned Black Friday shoppers should get to grips with online shopping before Black Friday, to avoid performance anxiety. Familiarise yourself with the website the day before, and don’t forget to log in and pre-load your payment details – that way you can save valuable time and focus all your energy on the deals when they are released.
* Get in early – During last year’s sale, OneDayOnly.co.za consistently showed high traffic volumes throughout the day, peaking at 06:00 and with spikes at 8:00, 09:00 and 13:00. But the sale itself officially kicks off at 00:00:01, so to ensure you don’t miss out on any deals (there is often limited stock), it’s worthwhile staying up until midnight. That way, you’re automatically guaranteed to be one of the first to see the deals as they go live.
* Have a plan – With so many deals being advertised and promoted on the day, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The best way to ensure you stay focussed and get the best deals is to create an ordered list of the items you want from high priority to low. This will enable you to keep track of what you want so you’re not wasting time or getting distracted.
* Check out or miss out – With so many shoppers looking for the best deal, if you don’t click that check out button as soon as you’re done filling your cart, it’s very likely that someone else may be eyeing the same thing as you, at the same time. At the end of the day, stocks are limited when it comes to these amazing deals, and having an item in your cart does not secure it. You need to check out or miss out.
* Get the app – In order to gear up for demand, OneDayOnly.co.za has launched an app. Users can get real-time notifications on their phone and, with discounts reaching up to 100% off on Black Friday, quick and easy access could be the difference between sealing that deal.