In the US, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving as well as the unofficial start of the festive season. While many countries don’t traditionally celebrate American Thanksgiving, Black Friday (and its counterpart, Cyber Monday,) has become the ultimate shopping event, both in-store and online, ruling the retail calendar worldwide.

Global interest in Black Friday has also risen year-on-year, averaging 117% growth across the last five years, with South Africa’s Black Friday sales increasing by a notable 9900% in 2018. Google data suggests that in the last 5 years the interest of Internet users in Black Friday has more than doubled.

No longer a one day shopping extravaganza

Black Friday debuted in South Africa in November 2016. In three years, the day has already expanded from the single Friday promotional offerings to Cyber Monday, early-bird countdowns, pre and post deals and entire weeks now dedicated to a variety of promotions, flash sales and markdowns.

And for those consumers who don’t want to brave endless in-store queues, retailers can be assured that they will still be doing some Black Friday shopping from the comfort (and safety) of their mobile phone or laptop screen.

According to a report from Adobe Analytics, Black Friday online sales jumped 23.6% from the year before, pulling in $6.22 billion in online sales and making it the fastest-growing day for e-commerce sales in history.

What does Black Friday mean to me?

Black Friday has left many retailers wondering how to optimise sales and drive trial with solutions designed to deliver increased visibility and engagement.

“Within the FMCG industry, conjecture is that Black Friday is less relevant for regular, lower value, day to day consumer goods items,” says a Nielsen Report. “By analysing the total FMCG basket, category and brand retail performance there are a number of valuable insights that manufacturers and retailers can use to inform their preparation.”

Within the FMCG industry, conjecture is that Black Friday is less relevant for regular, lower value, day to day consumer goods items

Execute your activities well and you’ll be able to incrementally ramp up the necessary growth and return.  According to Black-Friday Global analysts, sense, sellers and buyers swap places during Black Friday:

“In normal circumstances, customers gain benefits by shopping regularly and thus asserting their loyalty. In November, stores are the ones that must prove loyalty toward their clients, which can be assessed with regard to the level of rebates and availability of highly discounted products.”

Not sure how to take advantage of the busiest retail shopping day of the year? Contact Smollan Marketing solutions – Andre Lombard  – to find out more.