Well, it’s nearly time for Black Friday again, and no doubt everybody is making sure that any specials or promotions that they have planned for the 29th will be ready well head of time.
In the meanwhile, here are some interesting stats about Black Friday in South Africa:
Record Sales
Despite being an American tradition, local retailers have enthusiastically climbed on board, and the sale is particularly popular with ecommerce retailers (and clients).
According to leading ecommerce platform Takealot, their Black Friday (Blue Dot) sale last year generated more than eleven million Rand in the first hour, and a total transaction value of R196,000,000, representing 125% growth in sales, and a 127% growth in orders, year-on-year.
51% of respondents to the My Broadband Black Friday survey said that they only shopped online during Black Friday, while 28% shopped both online and at physical stores. (Only 21% shopped at physical stores only.)
Top Sellers – Tech & Clothing
PC hardware and electronics were the most popular categories, with clothing coming in a close third.
TV’s in particular seem to be popular, with GfK reporting a 66% increase in TV sales this past Black Friday, to more than 93,000 units. (That was a 151% increase over 2016.) Smart phone sales on the other hand, increased only 4% compared to the previous year.)
Other popular items were portable hard drives, camping equipment and perfume.
Mobile Dominated
Perhaps most interestingly, a massive 68% of Takealots record-breaking orders were placed by users on mobile phones, either via the mobile site, or their app.
This only goes to show that for retail-type ecommerce sales, mobile continues to be a rapidly accelerating platform, particularly given the drive to increase access for users.