Black Friday took off in South Africa at first, but now this American-inspired sale has become more of a lifeline for broke consumers.
A new survey shows that Black Friday is no longer about being able to afford luxuries at reduced prices, but about survival for cash-strapped consumers of all income levels, with 64.3% relying on significant Black Friday deals on groceries and food to take the edge off what has been one of the toughest years financially for households across the country.
The survey was conducted by Debt Rescue to assess the mindset of consumers ahead of this year’s major pre-festive season shopping event on Friday.
Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, says while Black Friday has grown far beyond a single day of deals since first bursting onto the retail scene in South Africa in 2012, driven by online retailers like Takealot, it has evolved into a shopping ‘season’ that encompasses Cyber Monday on 1 December, setting the tone for the festive holiday retail experience and generating a real sense of excitement and expectation among consumers over the past decade.
Is Black Friday a burden not a bargain? Roets says this year it seems that sentiment has shifted, with a sizeable segment of South Africans now viewing Black Friday through a vastly different lens after battling through another turbulent year of financial stress and strain, driven by relentless price increases and high interest rates.
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Survey results about Black Friday deeply concerning
“Insights from the survey we conducted are deeply concerning, showing that over half of our participants cannot afford Black Friday shopping at all this year, with as many confessing that the shopping event and the advertising campaign around it has become a source of financial pressure and potential debt. It no longer creates excitement.”
The survey results show that 50.38% of respondents believe Black Friday pushes people into unnecessary debt, while 25.3% feel stress or pressure to buy what they cannot afford.
Roets says that, for most consumers, this major shopping event is no longer about being able to splurge on little luxuries once a year, but rather to provide them with short-term relief by saving on essential items they need to stock the grocery cupboard and at the same time freeing up a little cash to spend on a special festive season meal for the family.
“This is the time of year when consumers are bombarded with relentless Black Friday advertising, making it difficult to resist impulse purchases. However, insights from the Debt Rescue survey indicate that this year will be different, with more than half of respondents (58.3%) saying they will only buy essentials like food and household items.”
The survey results also show that, although a significant number of people intend to participate in Black Friday despite their economic challenges, they will largely spend on food and groceries while 19.9% will look for deals to help them afford clothing and school uniforms for the year ahead.
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Consumers will avoid new debt
In addition, survey outcomes show that respondents will avoid incurring new debt at all costs, even for discounted items, with 60.9% opting to pay for their Black Friday purchases using either cash or debit cards only and only 3.5% saying they will use credit.
“This tells us that consumers are going to act with extreme caution this year when it comes to emptying their wallets. People are really feeling the pinch and I believe this is being driven by a fear of getting into even more debt.
“With the average citizen now spending around 80% of their income servicing debt every month and millions more unable to afford even the basic necessities, this is understandable and commendable.
“With many households on the brink of financial ruin and millions more barely able to live from pay check to pay check, the sad truth is that South Africans will be forced to use their credit facilities over the December holidays, just to enjoy some kind of festive cheer, even if this means serving up three nutritious meals for the family,” Roets says.