Black Friday marketing initiatives are extending holiday shopping periods

As South African consumers prolong their propensity to spend in and around Black Friday, and retailers prolong their targeted efforts to capitalise on this tendency, Black Friday appears to be resulting in Black November in terms of spending, according to analysis from PwC.

A number of interesting patterns appear to have emerged in PwC’s analysis of retail activity over the last month. For starters, the absolute participation of South African consumers jumped considerably over the last year, having increased from 54.6% of the total population in 2017 to a staggering 66.5% this year.

The numbers reflect the two broad trends that are characterise South Africa’s economy in recent times – a growing consumer market and a steady retail sector. Nevertheless, PwC’s analysis revealed another – and perhaps more promising – trend, namely an increase in the share of online retail.

South African retailers are investing heavily in developing their digital offerings as well as in expanding their ecommerce activity, which has produced returns in recent years. Online retail during Black Friday grew by 25% in 2017, and remained steady by growing by another 25% this year.

Perhaps the most striking finding from PwC, however, is the extension of Black Friday initiatives and spending patterns to extend over longer than just a day or even just a week. In essence, the boost in targeted initiatives has extended the entire holiday shopping period to begin in November.

“To benefit from changing buying patterns, retailers are extending their Black Friday offerings to a week or more leading up to the day and the days thereafter, including the ensuing weekend leading up to Cyber Monday. To benefit from changing buying patterns, retailers are extending their Black Friday offerings to a week or more leading up to the day and the days thereafter, including the ensuing weekend leading up to Cyber Monday,” said PwC.

“The November event drives visits and footfall at online and brick-and-mortar shops that exposes consumers to the products available in these facilities. Retailers have the opportunity to use this traffic for advertising and to keep consumer conversations going heading into the Christmas shopping season,” the firm added.