Flat Friday? Shoppers feel economic squeeze on #BlackFriday2020

Black Friday started off particularly slowly across SA as store managers waited with for customers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.  When they arrived, many shoppers signalled they were cash-strapped.

Television sets, children's clothing, sports shoes and groceries were on buyers' minds.

Elizabeth Seragke from Soshanguve said she woke up at 5am to prepare to go shopping at the Bloedstreet Mall in the Pretoria CBD.

The 44-year-old said she has been unemployed since losing her job during the pandemic.

"I am here to buy my children clothes and a few things I need because they are on special," she said.

Campus Square shopping mall in Johannesburg was almost empty.

Nonzukiso Siyali was at CNA buying stationery for her three children.

She said she is still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown as she only started receiving her full salary in September.

“I have enough money to buy groceries and pay rent,” Siyali said.

Oarabile Kotsitswe from Westbury in Johannesburg said he and a friend arrived at their Makro outlet at 6am. They were let in at 8.30am. He works as a baker and his friend for a courier company.

Kotsitswe said they put money together and had a budget of R4,000 for a TV set, but when they arrived inside the one they wanted was sold out. He said they settled for a smart TV for R5,500.

“We didn’t save because we had a budget. We had to add R1,500 we put away for groceries and alcohol to pay for the TV. We still have food for a week, but we will make a plan. I was worried about the long queues and Covid-19, but I really wanted the TV.”

Sphephelo Ndlovu, who works night shift at Makro in Strubens Valley, Roodepoort, stayed behind when his shift ended at 6am this morning. He bought a TV for R2,800.

“I have been saving for the TV since last month. I’m feeling very good now that I have my TV.”

Vicus van Jaarsveld was on the hunt for a swimming pool for his children. He said he would save around R300 on the pool.

“The kids are very excited about it. With this heat I think it is worth it. If you shop cleverly  there are some big savings," he said. 

In Durban, scores of people queued outside the Springfield Park Nike factory shop. Many of the people in the queue, which stretched into the parking lot, were not wearing masks nor observing social distance protocols.

Brandon, who didn't give his surname, and his friends travelled from Wentworth to queue outside the Nike shop from 4.30am to see what discounts they could score on kicks. He said they are frightened of Covid-19 but took a chance to stand in the queues.

Selva and Saro Pather of Durban bought a compact stove/oven after spending time researching it on the internet. It usually sells for R3,400 but they paid R2,700 at the Makro sale.

Tamara Fegen, with her mother, JL Young, bought a TV, a PVR and stand for R5,184 and saved R1,000. Their other goods totalled R1,000 but were reduced to R800.

The usual Black Friday queues were not evident at the start of the big sales day.

A few Johannesburg early birds were left disappointed as stores in the Mall of Africa remained closed shortly after midnight. They resorted to window shopping. Shoppers there were wearing face masks in line with Covid-19 protocols.

At Durban's Pavilion Mall, stores were open but customers were few and far between. 

It was also a quiet start for Cape Town shoppers at Canal Walk, who formed a short queue before entering one of the stores.

Pleasure Masina, a store manager at Atlyn Mall in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, was disappointed by the turnout.

She said she was expecting a large number of people at the doors when they opened.

“We woke up early and got here at 6am so we could open at 7am,” she said, adding they would close the store at 7pm.

“We are very disappointed because now it is [morning] and there are no customers. We are hoping they are still coming,” she said, adding that they needed to make sales to offset their costs.

“Our budget is too high,” she said.

Voices calling out specials and staff ringing hand-held bells at the doors echoed through the Atlyn Mall on Friday morning, but there were no queues.

One Pretoria shopper, Hellen Matlala, was disappointed to find her preferred store closed.

“I woke up at 6am and arrived here at 7am. I was expecting to find it open because I am going to work at 8am, but it was closed,” she said.

Matlala said she would not visit other stores because of her observance of Covid-19 protocols. “I was just here for one thing I need. That's it,” she said.

Jane Petersen of Parow had collected shopping brochures from the major stores and compared prices to spot bargains.

The mother of two arrived early to join the queue outside Makro in Montague Gardens, Cape Town. Her savings and annual bonus had “given me enough to do all my Christmas shopping and beyond'.

“I do bulk buying about four times a year and Black Friday is usually my last shopping experience for the year, but I’m not going to go mad about it," she said.

"I mainly buy groceries and come here every year as they have better prices, but I’m also disappointed they only opened at 9am when other stores opened as early as 6am. It’s not wise, especially given that it’s a pandemic year."

Tania Quinton of Bothasig, husband Mark and daughter Candice Myburgh were also in the queue.

Their shopping started earlier at Checkers. They stockpiled jars of Jacobs and Nescafe coffee, which sold at almost half price.

“We drink a lot of coffee at home so we hope this will last us for some time,” said Tania.

“We’ve come here to check what specials we can get, but we are not going to buy anything  we don’t need just because it’s Black Friday. We are basically shopping for household stuff - nothing fancy and definitely not electronics.”

Mark, a firefighter, took leave to be part of the family shopping.

Marvin Schoor from Atlantis also booked leave to shop with his wife Gaynor and their four-year-old son.

“It’s been a tough year for us due to the pandemic and we don’t have much to spare so we are prepared to spend the entire day comparing prices and buying only the bargains,” he said.

Waafiqah Isaacs was the first person in the queue, aiming to buy an air fryer and a food mixer.

“I’m  disappointed by the prices. The discounts are not as big as in previous years, but I think one can understand because businesses are also struggling and don’t want to lose too much money. From here I’m going straight home as I don’t want to buy stuff I don’t need,” she said.

“Money is tight this year so we have to spend wisely.”

How to make the most of this year's extended Black Friday specials:

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