The COVID-19 virus has forced retailers to readjust and make plans which safeguard employees and consumers while also guaranteeing a pleasant shopping experience. This year’s Black Friday has created a new burden on retailers to maintain this delicate balance.
Which retailers are doing things differently?
Pick n Pay
Pick n Pay announced it will be extending its Black Friday for two full weeks and more deals will be offered in-store and online. Retail executive for market at Pick n Pay, John Bradshaw, said Black Friday was a very busy trading period and the reason for the extension to two weeks was to keep its customers safe and able to shop for great deals at their leisure. He said in-store deals will also be made available to customers online, so many can have the pleasure of shopping from home, which would be more convenient.
Game and Makro
Massmart stores Game and Makro are running Black Friday deals for all of November. Game has increased staffing levels and expanded its Uber Eats partnership for Black Friday to ensure it is able to meet customer expectations. It is also offering its 1 Cent Price Surprise on all Black Friday purchases. Both retailers will be spreading their deals out over different weeks. Game’s first set of deals will be announced and launched online at midnight on November 1 and be available exclusively for that week.
Uber Eats is the exclusive delivery partner for small electronics and home office essentials. Consumers are promised a delivery timeline of 10 to 14 days on all Black Friday orders, with the delivery fee being capped at R90 – except for large appliances such as fridges and chest freezers, which will carry a R70 surcharge per item, per order. Newsletter subscribers will have early viewing access to all Black Friday deals.
Takealot
Online retailer Takealot has confirmed that its annual Blue Dot Sale will return for Black Friday 2020. Takealot said that the sale will launch sometime in November and that thousands of products will be on sale across 28 different departments, including deals on tech products, home and kitchen products, leisure, sport and toy deals, everyday essential items and media deals. Takealot said that its Blue Dot Sale isn’t just a one-day sale and that hundreds of new deals will be added daily. It said that shoppers can also expect savings on Cyber Monday and Takealot Tuesday.
Style Mode
For those looking for more options for online clothes shopping in South Africa, the good news is that a new e-commerce fashion portal has just launched. StyleMode is a new fashion website powered by established e-commerce platform Loot.co.za. The site, launched on 13 October, includes both men and women’s fashion such as clothing, footwear, and accessories.
Brands already stocked on the website include Brave Soul, Jada, Miss Black, and Via Beach, among others. However, the site also notably has its own private label collection called StyleMode. This label includes Miss Mode, La Mode, and ModeCurve. customers can look forward to a Black Friday promotion on the site, according to the company.
You can make your Black Friday shopping spree easier, courtesy of Guzzle.
