By Yogashen Pillay
Durban – Retailers are expecting large crowds to descend on stores this Black Friday.
However, with another interest rate hike and rising inflation, experts have warned consumers to be cautious with their spending.
Andrew Mills, group executive for marketing at Pick n Pay, said the retailer was expecting customers to be hunting for more value as they remained under pressure after a tough year.
“We now have two store brands, Pick n Pay and Pick n Pay QualiSave, so we can tailor our offers and savings to make them even more relevant for our customers. We are excited to give customers massive Black Friday savings this year after a very tough year for many. Customers have been faced with load shedding and rising petrol prices so they deserve some relief.”
Mills added that some of the items that were popular buys from last year’s Black Friday included instant coffee, carbonated soft drinks, rice, long-life UHT milk, cooking oil, men and women’s T-shirts, nappies and televisions, and therefore this year they had deals on grocery items.
“We’ll have massive deals on everyday grocery essentials such as cleaning products, nappies and toilet paper, as well as fresh produce. We also believe many customers will use our Black Friday deals to get a head start on Christmas shopping, and we’ve added deals for this in particular.”
Shoprite and Checkers said Black Friday marked the start of the festive season and the following weeks leading to Christmas were an important trading period in the retail industry.
They said they had been cognisant of the financial pressures facing customers when planning for Black Friday.
“Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets are well-prepared and have millions of products available to give customers a variety of options to consider – including much-needed commodities.
“All stores are equipped with diesel generators on-site to provide back-up power during load shedding or electricity interruption.”
Black Friday has proven to be very popular with consumers, with consumer data company NielsenIQ recently reporting that Black Friday was bigger than the traditional festive season purchase week in December 2021.
NielsenIQ Sub-Sahara Africa Analytics director Kobus Eksteen said: “The 2021 Black Friday week surpassed the biggest festive season sales week, showing its dominance in the South African retail sector. FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) basket sales were 23% higher than the average of all other month-end weeks in 2021, and the percentage of volume sold on promotion was 55% higher.”
However, while retailers will be ready for shoppers, consumers have been cautioned to spend only on essentials as the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee yesterday increased the repo rate by 75 basis points, taking it from 6.25% to 7%. This means the prime lending rate will increase from 9.75% to 10.50%.
Dr Ntokozo Nzimande, a senior lecturer in the department of economics at the University of Cape Town, said consumers should exercise restraint and avoid unnecessary expenditure.
“Most importantly, credit/loan finance consumption expenditures should be avoided, especially now that the interest rate is not expected to fall any time soon.”
Nzimande added that instead of spending, it would be wiser for consumers to pay off their debts.
Neil Roets, CEO of debt counselling firm Debt Rescue, said consumers should only buy items they desperately needed.
“I would advise consumers to be cautious in their spending. Only buy items that you need and have budgeted money for. The problem with Black Friday is people tend to buy items they don’t need because they feel it’s a promotion.”
Roets added that consumers should avoid falling prey to unnecessary debt.
“I would advise consumers to take cash only, if you are doing any purchases on Black Friday, and to leave your credit cards at home. As much as consumers are excited about Black Friday, it can lead to more debt. Remember, we are in difficult times with increases in interest rates, fuel prices and electricity costs and one can’t afford to fall deeper in debt.”
Dr Sanele Gumede, an economics lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, agreed that consumers should plan their purchases in advance and do proper research.
“If you are making purchases, you need to have planned and saved money to purchase items you need. If you are looking at prices at the stores and just assuming they dropped, you are going to end up spending money on a lot of items that you don’t need.”
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