It’s the biggest shopping holiday of the year. Since starting in the early 1960s in America, Black Friday has taken the world by storm. There’s nowhere on Earth where that’s more true than South Africa.
Since Takealot first saw the potential in 2012, South Africans have been of the most Black Friday-obsessed people in the world. In fact, we showed the highest global interest in Black Friday deals between 2012 and 2018, with a 9900% increase in interest over those years. For context, the global average was 117%.
In the past, the Black Friday shopping extravaganza extended to include Cyber Monday to ensure that consumers get as many deals as they can grab. This year, however, retailers are taking it a step further. Many are running Black November specials throughout the entire month.
So, what’s the key takeaway from this? South African retailers and consumers alike have realised just how important Black Friday is.
In 2020, we saw a 139% increase in transactions on Black Friday, when compared to the previous day’s trading. More importantly, processing value increased by 210% on Black Friday compared to the rest of the month. The day also made up 17% of the entire November’s processing value.
The time of the day makes a difference too. Historically, Ozow has seen that consumers spent more on higher-value deals around 10h00 in the morning. But it also saw a higher volume of transactions for low-value items at 19h00 in the evening.
Planning on shopping this Black Friday?
While searching for the best deals, keep the following in mind:
- Do your homework: the first deal may not always be the best one. So, it’s important to do your research to compare prices.
- Start now: with many retailers offering deals throughout the month, it’s important to take advantage of them to ensure that you get exactly what you want without worrying about stocks running dry.
- Shop online: it’s convenient and safe – you can do it from the comfort of your home.
- Shop at trusted brands: only shop with trusted eCommerce stores, and traditional brick-and-mortar stores that have extended their offers to the online realm as well.
- Website security: make sure your checkouts are safe. Look for the little padlock next to the website’s URL – this indicates that information on the site is encrypted.
- Keep your information safe: don’t give away any information. If you use a credit card, don’t save your details, make sure they’re cleared from the site, and make sure you log out once you’ve bagged your deals.
- Check the links: Though convenient, shopping online via your mobile device introduces many new security challenges. Cyberhackers use abbreviated URLs on social media, and once clicked on, you have no idea where it’s directing you to.
To learn more about how we keep your banking and personal information safe when you use Ozow, check out our blog on safety and security here.
