South African retailers are bracing themselves for a buying tsunami on 25 November, even though households have been feeling the squeeze.
While retailers are bracing for increased sales on Black Friday, economists predict that consumers under financial pressure will opt to bulk-buy and get ahead of their Christmas shopping rather than splurge on big-ticket items.
Ashley Saffy, business development head for FNB card division, says the bank saw a total spend of R2.5-billion for Black Friday last year, up 15% on 2020. Top expenditure categories included groceries, clothing, transport and entertainment. “We have seen a deflated Black Friday over recent years due to the Covid effect, especially with retailers running monthlong campaigns. This year, we think there will be a stronger performance on the day,” says Zietsman.
Gilmour says the timing is bad. “What gets spent on Black Friday invariably gets subtracted from Christmas sales as there is a finite amount of cash to go round. In addition, rising interest rates are depressing retail sales growth. The weaker rand means imported goods are more expensive,” he explains.
Nedbank’s managing executive of solution innovation, Dayalan Govender, says the bank stress-tests its systems ahead of Black Friday.
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