The much-anticipated Black Friday is finally here. If you have been eyeing some items that might have been a bit pricey, today is the day to check if they have in fact gone down a bit.
With the biggest shopping day of the year here, you need to do your research before spending your hard-earned money on any purchase, warns South Africa's stockpiling queen, Ncumisa Ndelu.
But did you know the strange origins of this day? According to reports, the phrase “Black Friday” first appeared in the trade journal “Factory Management and Maintenance” in November 1951.
It can be traced back to the US, as with many things. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and the following Friday is always packed with shopping.
This custom spread throughout the world and evolved into the extravaganza we know today. Ndelu, a professional stockpiler and founder of the Facebook group 1 Family 1 Stockpile, advises against “shopping blindly” because you may end up getting scammed.
“Don’t go anywhere near the shops if you don’t know the original price because you will end up being duped. Members of the group are already spotting some weird behaviour.
“Items they needed were increased by a thousand or two rands this past month, and now they are reduced by the same amount in the name of Black Friday. This has been spotted with appliance purchases so far, but I am not saying it’s limited to appliances,” said Ndelu.
Some South African tweeps are already alleging that certain brands are taking people for a ride with dodgy prices.
The fridge I wanted was R4500 ko Takealot about a month ago.
— T H A N D I (@Miss_Fipaza) November 24, 2022
Black Friday special at Takealot R4999 same fridge 😭![CDATA[]]>😭![CDATA[]]>😭
I just saw it At Makro it's R4200 tomorrow 🤣
However, she adds that the buzz is there for the usual suspects in the Facebook group. Some members have found deals on detergents and other essential items, while others haven’t.
She advised that South Africans wait for store sales cycles. “Look out, especially in the period of time before payday when everyone is broke.”
There will be a 400% increase in e-commerce sales on Black Friday this year, according to MyRunway.
“One would expect the largest spend per customer to come from Gauteng, but female shoppers in KwaZulu-Natal spend an average of 50% more per purchase, followed by shoppers in the Eastern Cape,” said Rob Noble, managing director of MyRunway.
According to Ndelu, phones have made life easier; there's no need to go searching in physical stores; you can do the searching at home, list everything you need, and only go to buy what you need, or if it's available online, buy it online.
“The problem with shopping physically is that you end up seeing things you don’t need and buy just because they’re on special. So, it becomes a question of discipline,” she said.
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