This year’s Black Friday promises to be ‘best ever’

It is time for shopping mayhem again so brace yourself for Black Friday on November 24.

Economist Mike Schussler said he expects to see large numbers of consumers spending on Black Friday despite the dire economy.

“As we have in previous years‚ you will get a bit of a pick up on Black Friday but then the December sales will look a little bit less again‚” said Schussler.

“The consumers are very eager for their discounts. The spending on that day will be magnificent‚ it will bring shoppers into the shop floor. I don’t think that’s under dispute‚” he said.

Schussler said people are likely to buy items which they can store such as toilet paper.

Two of the country's top retailers‚ Pick n Pay and Checkers‚ said their customers can expect big savings this year.

Checkers said they were the first retailer to introduce the US shopping event to South Africa in 2014. This year the company promised to cut prices by up to 50%.

Traditionally Black Friday takes place on the last Friday in November in the United States.

John Bradshaw‚ head of marketing at Pick n Pay‚ said they are gearing up for the ''best'' Black Friday ever.

“We've done a huge amount of work to identify exactly what our customers want on Black Friday. Our buying teams have sources some jaw-dropping deals and our distribution teams have had to make special plans to get all the products to our stores‚” said Bradshaw.

Last year more than 100 police officers were deployed to the Mall of Africa north of Johannesburg.