- Massmart reports that its first week of month-long Black Friday promotions saw shoppers jumping on deals for groceries.
- With inflation on a steady march upward, this hunger for deals on essentials makes sense.
- Other grocery retailers are planning Black Friday promotions which may help ease the pressure on South African bank accounts.
Black Friday is happening at the end of November but some retailers are hosting a month of sales including Massmart stores Game and Makro.
The retailers kicked off a month-long promotion where shoppers can enjoy an up to 50 percent discount. One week into this promotion and vice president for marketing at Massmart, Katherine Madley has revealed some interesting information.
The VP says that, “Game’s customers were most excited to save on milk, soft drink, fridges and TVs” according to a press release.
“Game customers look to us to give them the best pricing on household and pantry essentials, especially as they look toward the festive season and get ready for the new year,” said Madley.
While we understand that Black Friday is about attracting customers through deals, it is concerning that groceries are the deals that are attracting customers. Granted, this isn’t surprising given that the inflation rate is back on a steady, upward trajectory.
“South African consumers continued to cut back on spending in August, with retail trade sales recording its ninth consecutive month of year-on-year decline. Four of the seven retailer groups recorded weaker sales, with general dealers and hardware stores the major drags on growth. Consumers also shied away from retailers specialising in pharmaceuticals & cosmetics and household goods,” Statistics South Africa said in October.
Stats SA did say that clothing, food, and beverage retailers had a good August, but given that humans need to eat rather regularly and there was a change of season approaching, these sales should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The good news is that if you’re looking to stretch those Rands further, Makro and Game have deals on laptops, TVs, fridges, liquor and grocery essentials this week.
It really speaks to the state of the economy that we’re so quick to take up deals for essentials but at least local retailers recognise this. It comes as no surprise then that Shoprite and Checkers also plan to host Black Friday deals. There is no word on whether Pick n Pay or Spar will be doing the same.
If you’re planning a big party over December, keeping an eye out for Black Friday deals on groceries, may just be the move this year.
[Image – Viki Mohamad on Unsplash]
