The Ins and Outs of Black Friday

Including interesting South African statistics and information

 

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What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is a colloquial term that refers to the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States of America (USA). The USA Thanksgiving Day originates from 1621. In 1942 president Franklin D Roosevelt of the USA issued a proclamation to officially designate the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. The USA Thanksgiving holiday taking place on the fourth Thursday of November means that Black Friday annually falls on the fourth Friday of November. Although, when November comprises five Fridays, Black Friday is scheduled to take place on the fifth Friday of November. The last time Black Friday occurred on the fifth Friday of November was in 2019 - 29 November, while the next one will be on 29 November 2026. Black Friday is regarded as the first day of the holiday or Christmas shopping season, starting a phase in which retailers expect consumers to spend big on items, such as gifts, toys, jewellery, and other luxury items. Nowadays, Black Friday is a major shopping day, not only in the USA but globally, with 50 - 60% of the world’s countries running Black Friday specials. It is noteworthy that Black Friday has been adopted in countries where Thanksgiving is not celebrated. Also in South Africa, Black Friday has become a big part of the country’s shopping calendar.  

Why is this particular Friday called black?

A positive reference to profits generated from sales

At present, the word ‘black’ in Black Friday is associated with profits gained by retailers and stores due to considerable purchases made by consumers on the major shopping day after the Thanksgiving holiday. When profits are made, it is commonly referred to as ‘in the black.’ This belief is based on the once-common accounting practice of indicating positive amounts in black and negative amounts in red. Hence, losses were reported in red and profits in black. In the USA, since the 1980s, this meaning of Black Friday has spread nationally. Although, it is also possible that numerous consumers (in the USA and globally) only view Black Friday as a day of specials in abundance. However, to do justice to the term ‘Black Friday,’ it cannot only be explained in terms of the positive ‘red and black’ story. History shows it had different meanings through the years.  

Negative references through history

• The stock market crash in 1869

The phrase ‘Black Friday’ was first used on 24 September 1869 when four speculators, Jim (James) Fisk, Jay (Jason) Gould, William (‘Boss’) Tweed, and Peter Sweeny, tried to manipulate the market in loose gold when they drove up the price of gold. The calamitous panic that followed caused a stock market crash, plummeting by 20%. Foreign trade came to a standstill and the effects of the crash were felt by the US economy for many years.

• A term used by the Police Department of Philadelphia

The Police department of Philadelphia, (a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA), started to use the term ‘Black Friday’ in the late 1950s/early 1960s to describe the chaotic traffic jams accompanying the shopping spree of thousands of consumers on Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday. Black Friday reminded the cops of Philadelphia of strenuous and demanding work to direct massive traffic jams and certainly not a term of endearment for them.  

Black Friday in South Africa

The Black Friday shopping tradition in the USA was not part of the South African shopping scene until 2014 when Checkers, owned by Shoprite and one of the largest retailers in South Africa, introduced the concept in the country. Although, Takealot, the online retailer, claims that it has already introduced the concept in 2012.

A condensed overview of the progress of Black Friday in South Africa

2015 (27 November)[i]

• Checkers claimed that more than one million customers benefitted from its Black Friday specials in 2015.

• According to the digital customer engagement agency, 25AM, references by South African social media users to Black Friday increased more than 300%. The agency mentioned that Checkers, Dionwired, and Pick & Pay were the most talked-about brands on 27 November 2015.

2016 (25 November)

• Analysis of the sales figures indicated that Black Friday sales between 2015 and 2016 increased more than 300%.[ii]
• The website of the news channel eNCA[iii] reported on the evening of 24 November that ‘Black Friday has become more popular than the previous years and its all thanks to social media.’

eNCA based its opinion on statistics released by the marketing agency 25AM, quoting Andre Steenkamp, (CEO of the agency): ‘In the days leading up to Black Friday 2015, social media saw around 4 719 mentions, whereas 2016 has already reached surpassed [sic] the 15 500 mark.’ One of the contributing factors mentioned was that ‘many new brands have joined this annual shopping extravaganza.’ 2017 (24 November)[iv] According to the XtraSpace:

• 6% of South Africans participated in Black Friday of 2017.

 

• The top three brands purchased were Apple, Hisense, and Samsung.

 

• The top five products bought were:
• Cell phones
• TVs
• Smartwatches
• Laptops
• Multimedia players

 

• The average online discount was 61%, which was above the 2017 global average of 55%.

 

• Spending on Black Friday exceeded regular spending on an average Friday by 2 571%.

  According to the PwC report:

• 6% of customers purchased both online and in brick-and-mortar stores.
• The 7 million card transactions cleared were twice the daily average.

  2018 (23 November)[v] As stated by XtraSpace:

• Consumer spending increased from R2.5 billion in 2017 to 9 billion in 2018. (An increase of 16%.)
• The percentage of South Africans participating grew from 54.6% in 2017 to 5% in 2018.
• The average shopper was prepared to spend R1 654.

  As reported by Black Friday Global:

• 87% of surveyed South Africans are aware of the existence of Black Friday. Although not all of them could identify the exact date.

• There was a 1 952 per cent increase in sales compared to an ordinary trading day. This figure was considerably higher than the average increase of 663% and the increases of countries such as Australia (871%), India (828%), and Russia (527%).

  However, the 1 952% was much lower than Germany’s increase of 2 418%.

• The average Black Friday discount has slightly decreased from 61 per cent in 2017 to 60 per cent in 2018.
• Most popular items purchased by consumers:

 

• Clothing
• Shoes
• Groceries
• Electronics
• Home appliances.

  2019 (29 November)[vi] As mentioned by Bizcommunity:

• Black Friday trading volumes jumped by 400%, compared to an average trading day.
• A 35% year-on-year transactional volume growth was achieved.
• The average transactional value per shopping basket was R1 406, lower than 2018’s figure.

  According to the GeoPoll Data Report:

• 76% of respondents involved in GeoPoll’s survey indicated shopping on Black Friday, compared to 64% in 2018 and 60% in 2017.
• 84% of respondents indicated shopping on Black Friday previously, compared to a figure of 72% in the previous year’s survey.

  2020 (27 November)[vii] Statistics and figures regarding Black Friday 2026 are to be viewed in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, shoppers’ fears of Covid-19 infection, protocols of practicing social distancing, the economic impact of the lockdown, the lack of money in the pockets of shoppers, and the increased interest of online shopping. Business Insider SA reported, inter alia, the following:

• The huge drop in in-store sales was described as ‘startling.’
• The clearing house BankServAfrica was quoted, mentioning that in-store card purchases on Black Friday ‘numbered just under five million,’ a decrease of 30% compared to 2019 or two million fewer than in-store sales.
• Contrarily, online transactions jumped more than 60% which was about 300 000 extra online sales. However, the 60% increase was off a low base.

 

Interesting facts about Black Friday trading in South Africa

• Almost 90% of South Africans know what Black Friday means.
• Peak shopping hours are between 08:00 - 11:00.
• An average South African purchases 4.5 items on Black Friday.
• Between 2012 and 2017, sales on Black Friday grew by an unbelievable 9 900%.
• Bizcommunity mentions that ‘according to studies, South Africa ranks among the highest percentage of people enticed by these [Black Friday] sales, followed by France, Italy, New Zealand and the UK.’
• An astonishing 70% of South Africans are interested in Black Friday shopping.
• Black Friday differs from other seasonal sales that aim to sell old stock. Black Friday promotions are about selling high volumes of items that are highly in demand.

 

Black Friday frenzy expands

Black Friday used to be a one-day event in the USA, as well as in other countries, including South Africa. However, the Black Friday event has expanded considerably. For instance, Black Friday:

• Has grown into a shopping frenzy of a week, starting on the Monday before Black Friday. It is commonly referred to as Black Week.
• Has morphed into what is called Black November, implying that retailers offer Black Friday specials during the entire November.

  Online searches in South Africa for the term ‘Black Friday’ are nowadays not limited to the month of November. Searches start as early as September. Recently, one of South Africa’s major mobile communications companies advertise its specials by claiming that ‘Every day is Black Friday with [them].’  

Some pros and cons of Black Friday

Pros

• It helps to stimulate the economy of a country.
• Black Friday enables shops to get rid of excessive stock.
• Consumers are provided incredible discounts on items.
• It allows numerous consumers to purchase essential items which they normally could not afford.
• Black Friday provides the opportunity to do Christmas shopping, allowing customers to buy gifts at discounted prices.

Cons

• People are tempted to buy goods they do not need and would not have purchased otherwise.
• Usually, small shops cannot compete with the discounts offered by big retailers.
• Black Friday is advertised as an exceptional event by shops and retailers, enticing shoppers to make irrational decisions they would otherwise not have made.
• Black Friday can be very annoying and a waste of time when shoppers are required to wait in long queues or are stuck in traffic jams.
• Black Friday can be extremely dangerous when people become aggressive when trying to get the best deal.

  [i] Source: Businesstech article on 24 November 2016 - 'Like it or not, Black Friday is officially a thing in South Africa - here’s why' [ii] Source: Article in Businesstech on 3 November 2017 - ‘Where to shop this Black Friday in South Africa’ [iii] Article titled ‘Black Friday marketing in SA has tripled since 2015’ [iv] Sources: XtraSpace article - ‘Black Friday History and Growth in South Africa’ and the PwC report - ‘Consumer behaviour on Black Friday’ [v] Sources: XtraSpace article - ‘Black Friday History and Growth in South Africa’ and the Black Friday Global report - ‘Black Friday 2026 South Africa’ [vi] Sources: ‘35% growth in Black Friday online sales points to prepared shoppers, industry resilience’ - Article on the website of Bizcommunity on 4 Dec 2019 and GeoPoll Data Report - ‘Black Friday Shopping in South Africa’ [vii] Source: Article of Business Insider SA on 28 November 2026 - ‘It’s official: Black Friday flopped in SA this year - even though online did much better’

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