Interesting stats about Black Friday in South Africa

Black Friday is happening on November 29. According to the continent’s largest automated payments clearinghouse, BankservAfrica, in 2018 they processed a total of 581,189 online transactions.

A recent survey by Finder.com found that 42% of South Africans plan to shop on November 29. The younger you are, the more likely you are to shop. Almost half (47.98%) of Gen Z-ers plan to shop this Black Friday, while just 28.07% of those aged 65+ said the same.

Here are some facts you may not have known about Black Friday in SA:

1. In-store deals are more popular than online sales

https://twitter.com/Muhamadwaqas29/status/1065871225396838400?

South Africans love a good sale and you can see it from the Black Friday stampede videos. The majority of Black Friday shoppers plan to physically hit the streets, with just 39% of bargain hunters saying they’ll shop exclusively online.

2. Some people are willing to wait long hours for a good bargain

How long are people willing to wait for that bargain?

While 15% of shoppers aren’t willing to queue for more than 15 minutes, a quarter of shoppers are willing to wait up to three hours and a whopping 12% said they’d queue overnight for a bargain.

16% of shoppers in Gauteng are willing to queue all day with 11% happy to queue overnight too. In the Western Cape, almost 15% of shoppers said they’d queue overnight and over a quarter (25.69%) said they’d queue all day. Just under 35% (34.72%) said they’d only shop online.

3. Majority of South Africans think Black Friday sales are of good value

A second poll found 65% of South Africans think Black Friday sales are good value, with millennials the most likely to say so. However, of that 65%, 27% don’t always think it’s worth the hassle of shopping.

4. More men than women think Black Friday is of good value

40% of men in the poll thought Black Friday sales were of good value while 35.34% of women thought the same.

5. The Eastern Cape is the most sceptical province on Black Friday

Almost a third (31.48%) of the respondents in the Eastern Cape think Black Friday sales are good value but that it’s not worth the hassle. They’re also the most likely to think that retailers inflate prices leading up to discounts (16.67%).

6. The USA is no longer the country with the most Black Friday shoppers

Even though Black Friday is synonymous with hordes of American shoppers, Brazil is the country with the highest search interest in Black Friday, according to an analysis of historical search data from SEMrush. Interest in the shopping holiday peaked in November 2018, jumping 83% from the previous year, and remains at the same level as of October 2019. The USA shares the second position with France.

7. The top ten most popular retailers in SA during Black Friday

South Africa has bucked global trends, with none of the top ten most popular global retailers ranking in the top ten in South Africa. As far as the top three are concerned, South Africans are most likely to look for Black Friday deals from Game, Makro, and Takealot. Here are the top ten popular retailers in SA:

1. Game
2. Makro
3. Takealot
4. Checkers
5. Pick n Pay
6. Shoprite
7. Dion Wired
8. Incredible Connection
9. HiFi Corp
10. Edgars
    

    8. The PS4 is the most popular product in SA and abroad during Black Friday

    

    While the PS4 was one of the most popular Black Friday searches both in South Africa and abroad, one surprising trend unique to South Africa was people searching for telecom deals from retailers such as MTN, Vodacom and Telkom.

9. Interest in Black Friday has steadily grown over the years

Looking at historical Google Trends data, which goes as far back as 2004, we can see online interest in the term itself peaked in November 2018.

 Source: Finder.com

Read the article on Southlands Sun