Compared to the United States, Black Friday in South Africa is relatively inconsequential as it is not a State Public Holiday. However, that being said, statistics show that Black Friday sales in 2021 rose by between 15% – 30% from the year before. All shops, whether they are brick and mortar, or eCommerce, or both, can do with a dramatic sales boost leading up to Christmas.

Black Friday on the 25th of November, offers your business an opportunity to draw in new customers, sell out old stock, introduce new products, and test your business’ readiness for Christmas shopping.

Plus, with Cyber Monday being on the 28th of November – your shop could potentially make a ‘long weekend’ of it.

Here are some tips to get your ready:

Tip 1: Plan

Whatever you do, don’t ‘wing’ it. Designing banners and printing signs needs lead time. It’s not too late to come up with a solid strategy, and plan something fun and exciting. Do a stock check and work with what you’ve got. Now is an opportune time to run a massive sale on the items that have been there for too long. Planning in advance means you have time to order something in if need be, too.

Tip 2: Create offers that rock

Black Friday deals are successful if they make shoppers feel like they are getting value for money. After a crazy year with price increases on everything, South Africans want to feel they are being 'treated’ on this day. While they might shop for gifts, or everyday things, many will also shop for themselves as a ‘me-to-me’ spoil. Remember this when you are putting together your deals.

Ideas: Price discounts work best but you could also include bundle deals, free gifts, and value-adds – like 3 for 2 deals, free shipping, and mystery gifts.

Tip 3: Keep it simple

Don’t complicate your deals. Rotating deals hourly are fun and can create some urgency, but it can also easily cause confusion between shoppers and staff (or both). Only do what you have capacity for to manage and manage this exceptionally.

Tip 4: Get all hands on deck

There’s nothing like a long checkout queue to get shoppers wondering whether the deals in their hands are worth it. Pre-plan and make sure you have enough staff on the day, or over the weekend. If you are running online promotions scale up your website’s hosting plan to ensure it’s ready for an increase in traffic.

IMPORTANT: Avoid a delay with deliveries at all costs. Black Friday should help your brand and not create a bad reputation for you because of delayed deliveries and poor customer service.

Tip 5: Shout it out loud

Black Friday deals will flood social media streams and inboxes on the 25th November, so does this mean you shouldn’t attempt to market your deals? Not at all. It just means you might need to market them a little bit earlier, and slightly harder. Do posts, videos, reels and make sure your promotions get seen.

Ideas: Send an early-bird email to your subscribers and follow this up with a last-minute deal. If you have an opted in SMS or WhatsApp database share your deals through these platforms as well.

Tip 6: Create excitement online & in-store

If you don’t make a hype about it, nobody else will. Make it easy for customers to browse and shop your Black Friday specials in-store or online. Group them together and make use of signage and banners to excite potential shoppers. You can even group items together that could make great gifts. I.e. Gifts for him, Treat yo’ self, etc.

Tip 7: Try to keep the newbies

During Black Friday you might draw in customers that would not have come across you normally. If they’ve bought from you once that makes them an ideal target audience to try and keep. Implement a strategy to get shoppers to join your mailing list or encourage new shoppers to follow you on social media.

Ideas: Try offering an additional discount for newsletter signups, or run a Black Friday competition in-store and/or on social.

Good luck!

Chantel Venter

Chantél Venter is a creative writer, strategic thinker, and a serious gesticulator. She’s passionate about storytelling, small businesses and bringing color to the world ­– be it through her words or wardrobe.

She holds a four-year degree in Business and Mass Media Communication and Journalism. She’s been a copywriter and editor for the technology, insurance and architecture industries since 2007 and believes anybody can run a small business successfully. She therefore enjoys finding and sharing the best and most practical tips for this purpose.