Black Friday shoppers pass up shut-eye for discounts

Lucy Khuzwayo spent the night at Durban's Pavilion shopping centre to cash in on the Black Friday deals.

Khuzwayo‚ 51‚ of Lamontville was at the centre from 9pm on Thursday waiting for some stores to open at midnight. "I wanted a blender - for which I paid R450 instead of the normal price of R850."

Khuzwayo then sat outside Checkers Hyper from 1am. There were snakes of queuing people‚ including some in their gowns waiting for the discounts at the retailer and Toys R Us. "There were many of us sitting on the floor waiting for the doors to open. This is part of my Christmas shopping."

After offloading her R2,500 worth of groceries into her car she was heading for more deals at other stores.

Khuzwayo was among the thousands who braved the malls for the Black Friday mania which swept through the country on Friday‚ with shoppers standing in long queues to cash in on discounts.

Annika Verheem and Sandra Hall of Hillcrest were at Pavilion since after 3am. "I wanted a freezer from Game but was not prepared to stand in long queues that were not moving.

"Elsewhere in the centre shopping has been a breeze. Crowd control is extremely well managed at Checkers. There are lots of stock and no bumping‚" said Verheem.

WATCH | Shoving for savings: Black Friday madness hits SA