Black Friday boom is shaking SA retailers’ Christmas tree
Black Friday has been dubbed the most important day on the SA retail calendar
Black Friday, the US shopping phenomenon that started gaining traction in SA in 2015, may be displacing Christmas as the main shopping event of the year. Statistics SA retail sales trade data show that since 2015 sales during the December holiday season have taken a dip after November sales get a boost. Black Friday, dubbed the most important day on the retail calendar, may shift the shopping season, but other factors including currency movement and macroeconomics would also affect consumers' spending patterns, Lester Davids, a trading desk analyst with Unum Capital, said. The fundamentals of the economy, are "a huge factor in terms of sentiment for consumers as well as retailers themselves being able to push through cost increases because of the rand,'' he said. Takealot, which claims to have introduced Black Friday promotions in SA and ran a five-day Blue Dot sale, reached record sales this year of R196m - a 125% year-on-year growth in gross merchandise value. Best sellers include...
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