Shoppers eager to scoop up incredible bargains on Friday started queuing at shops that participated in the Black Friday sales from as early as 05:00, ready to get their hands on that one item that they have always wanted but could not afford.
Others made use of this event to stock up on household necessities and Christmas gifts at very reasonable prices.
Black Friday is an American invention and is traditionally on the Friday after Thanksgiving Thursday. It is generally regarded as the start of the Christmas shopping season.
The rush to shops and malls had a knock-on effect on the flow of traffic and many people found themselves stuck in jams for more than 45 minutes, an experience foreign to Polokwane road users.
Pieter Olivier, owner of Trappers Mall of the North says the store had a very successful Black Friday and that they intend to participate in Black Friday again next year, but plan to go bigger. “We want to make it a Black Friday Weekend where all the incredible specials will run from Friday to Sunday.”
In the store, Salesman Inhus Anderson had his hands full and said he loved every minute of it. “We are extremely busy and run off our feet, but we love to be able to offer our clients wonderful bargains. Trappers always offers value for money, but today we go the extra mile,” he said on Friday.
General Manager of Mall of the North, Sumari de Ridder says the mall had 53 772 feet on Friday, 21% more than last year on Black Friday. She says 80% of tenants took part in Black Friday this year, a marked difference from the handful that participated last year. In 2014 only Checkers offered Black Friday specials.
The busiest day last year was on 24 December when the mall had 51 000 feet, a record that this year’s Black Friday broke.
“We are happy to report that everything was relatively calm and there were no negative incidents to spoil the experience for shoppers,” De Ridder said.
Makro Polokwane took Black Friday one step further and turned it into a Black Friday Weekend with incredible specials from Friday to Sunday. Deals were available in-store and online and the wholesale giant followed this up with their Cyber Monday sale where they offered even more discounts on laptops and personal computer components.
Story and photos: MARKI FRANKEN
>>marki.observer@gmail.com
Featured photo: Mall of the North reported that the mall had 53 772 feet on Black Friday, 21% more than last year.
