Black Friday: Online sales are expected to increase this year

November is at our doorstep and most shoppers are looking forward to Black Friday specials.

According to BankservAfrica’s findings, consumers spent R6 billion on this historical day last year – exceeding retailers’ expectations.

Despite the tough economic times, retailers are still hoping to lure shoppers through this shopping phenomenon. But for many, this is no longer a one-day event – some retailers are running specials throughout the month.

A boost for e-commerce

Matthew Leighton, spokesperson for leading local e-tailer OneDayOnly, says that because of the effects of the global pandemic, online sales are expected to increase.

“We’ve seen consistent growth in Black Friday numbers, and we expect this to continue.”

He says between 2018 and 2019, the home-grown daily deals site saw the number of Black Friday shoppers double from those on a regular day.

“Internationally, well-established eCommerce markets are still experiencing growth, and we expect to see the same locally. A recent example was Asian eCommerce giant, Alibaba, which reported a 34% sales growth in the June quarter,” says Leighton.

Leighton says that with the rapid growth experienced in early lockdown and the sustained business from both their new and existing suppliers, trade at OneDayOnly is up 100% in 2020.

“Level 5 lockdown gave eCommerce a massive shot in the arm, and we don’t expect the easing of restrictions will affect that,” says Leighton.

A change in shopping behaviour

Leighton says that online shopping is always easier on Black Friday. “Online shopping gives you the convenience of purchasing everything you want without going from store to store or competing with other shoppers.

“Throw in Covid-19 restrictions, which will surely see long queues based on restrictions on store capacity and retail shopping taking a lot longer than it normally would, (and) we’re likely to see a move away from brick and mortar shopping and towards eCommerce,” Leighton says.

Leighton predicts that as such, there could be an even higher jump in growth.

“We will likely see some changes in terms of shopping behaviour online,” Leighton says.

“In the last two years, high (website) traffic times were consistently in the early morning at 6am and 9am, as people tried to lock down their deals before the start of the workday and then we would see a peak again around 11am and 1pm – as people took their workday tea or lunch breaks,” Leighton says.

He says that people are expected to spend increased time online.

The other area where it could see a shift is in terms of time spent on the site. “Usually, people spend up to three times longer on the site on Black Friday than on a usual shopping session. While this could be a stretch, we may see this gap close slightly as many people have become digitally and eCommerce savvy as a result of the lockdown,” Leighton says.

Despite the flood of expected marketing in November, consumers are warned to use their money responsibly.

“While there may be some marketing efforts that promote irresponsible buying and credit, we firmly believe that Black Friday is a great way for consumers to secure some genuinely excellent deals,” Leighton says.

He says that the trick is to do this responsibly – with a list and a budget.

Avoid becoming over-indebted

Carla Oberholzer, debt advisor at DebtSafe, warns consumers to be wary of further accumulating more debt.

“November is here in all its glory. You, therefore, have to be alert to avoid getting misled into making more debt. This year was financially hard enough as it is, so don’t take part in shopping sprees and month-long ‘specials’. But, keep your finances and financial situation real by not spending what you can’t afford, instead,” says Oberholzer.

She says in 2019, many retailers showed disappointing sales during the festive season due to the success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“My professional opinion and guess would be that this year would be no different – even if we had a raw 2020 deal because of the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic period and national lockdown regulations.”