Black Friday 2024: Where to find the best deals and tips to shop safe

Black Friday 2024 is here, with South African businesses offering massive discounts across banks, retailers, fashion outlets, ISPs, and more. While some deals span all of November, shoppers are reminded to stay vigilant as online scams rise. Last year’s event saw R4.5 billion spent, with notable purchases exceeding R1 million. This year, sales are expected to boost the local economy by R88 billion. Shop smart and secure during this retail extravaganza!

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By Myles Illidge

Many South African businesses are participating in Black Friday 2024, a sales event that will see substantial discounts on various products and services.

Participating companies include major South African banks, well-known brands, general goods retailers, fashion outlets, mobile networks, Internet service providers, insurers, and e-commerce players.

The sales event kicked off in the US, with people dubbing the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday. Many stores typically offer promotions with substantial discounts on products and services.

Black Friday 2024 falls on 29 November. However, many South African retailers and service providers have been running extended Black Friday promotions, some of which last the entire month of November.

Last year, Black Friday fell on 24 November. According to data from BankservAfrica, shoppers spent approximately R4.5 billion on the day.

It recorded 1.4 million transactions totalling R1.39 billion through its online 3D Secure service, while in-store transactions amounted to R3.1 billion.

It noted that in-store spending had declined by roughly 22% year-over-year.

Some South African shoppers go big during the annual retail event, with one spending R1.16 million during Black Friday 2023.

This is according to data from South Africa’s major banks. The biggest spender was an Absa customer, who transacted R1.16 million across multiple grocery transactions on the day.

A Standard Bank customer wasn’t far off, spending R1 million on Black Friday 2023. However, the bank didn’t specify what they purchased for this amount.

Regarding the largest single transactions, one Absa customer spent R1 million on furniture they paid for in one transaction, while a Standard Bank customer spent R900,000 in a single transaction.

This year’s Black Friday sales event is expected to generate more consumer interest in the country than in years past. Some studies show that it could boost the local economy by roughly R88 billion.

However, it is important that shoppers are vigilant and have their wits about them when transacting online.

In anticipation of Black Friday 2024, the South African Banking Risk Centre (Sabric) and Standard Bank have warned customers to be wary during this year’s sales event as online shopping scams rise.

According to Sabric, digital banking fraud increased by 45% and related financial losses by 47% in 2023.

Standard Bank added that shoppers must be careful of increasingly persuasive tactics being used by online scammers.

The bank’s digital and e-commerce head, Dr Belinda Rathogwa, outlined several steps that shoppers should follow to protect themselves:

Confirm before making a purchase: Buy only from trusted and verified sources. Read transaction details carefully and ensure that any OTP generated is for that specific transaction.
Stay Private: Don’t use public computers, public Wi-Fi, or someone else’s phone to access your online banking.
Avoid clicking on links: Found a voucher or a discounted deal with a link? Don’t be tempted to click on that link, especially if it leads you to your online banking profile. Only fraudsters will send you links that direct you to your banking profile and request you to enter your login credentials.
Manage Your Devices: For your safety, un-link any unused, sold, lost, or stolen devices from your online banking profile. Notify your bank immediately if your device is lost or stolen.
Report any suspicious activity.

Below are some of the companies offering big Black Friday promotions in South Africa in 2024.