Black Friday 2022 — all discounts in one place!

Black Friday: Hit or miss?

Picodi.com analysts checked how interest in Black Friday sales has changed over the years and conducted a survey among internet users to find out:

• what buyers think of Black Friday,
• why some people don't like it,
• how many people are trying to shop on November 26, 2021
• and which product categories are most popular among customers.

Big drop in interest

In 2020, Black Friday took place for the first time during the pandemic. Data obtained from Google Trends shows that the number of search queries related to Black Friday sales decreased by 37% last year. In South Africa, the Black Friday peak was in 2019, and the decline in interest is already noticeable in 2020.

62% of the survey respondents confirmed their participation in Black Friday in 2020. Others didn’t shop on Black Friday for various reasons: 15% didn’t need anything, 6% complained about unexciting discounts, and 2% — about the lack of interesting products on sale.

The pandemic also contributed to the decrease of interest in sales: some buyers preferred to avoid crowds (15%) or had a precarious financial situation (41%). Moreover, 21% of respondents forgot about Black Friday.

What buyers (don't) like Black Friday for

The results of the survey indicate that among South Africans there is a more positive than negative attitude towards Black Friday sales. Almost a half of South Africans agreed that Black Friday offers the opportunity to make purchases on very favourable terms. 40% say that Black Friday is the best shopping holiday, and 28% say that Black Friday is an opportunity to buy expensive things much cheaper.

On the other hand, 18% of respondents see fraudulent manipulation of product prices, when the price of an item is raised before the sale and then ‘lowered’. 13% believe that products discounted on Black Friday are uninteresting or slow-moving, and 13% indicated that the discounts on Black Friday do not stand out from other sales.

Black Friday 2021: what will we buy, how much will we spend

51% of the survey respondents declared their willingness to participate in this year's Black Friday. No one rejected the opportunity to participate in the sales, and 49% are still undecided.

Among the factors that would encourage shopping on Black Friday, the possibility of getting better discounts are most frequently chosen (57%). A discount on a desired product would convince 38% of respondents, and additional cashback, i.e. a return of part of the amount spent, would encourage 5%.

We asked decided shoppers which products they are most interested in purchasing on Black Friday. Clothing and footwear (62%) came first, electronics and household appliances came second (40%), and cosmetics and perfume (26%) came third. The average customer is prepared to spend R1,771 on Black Friday purchases, compared to R2,203 in 2020.

Methodology

The report uses archived data from the Google Trends platform and online surveys conducted on October 15–31 2021 and August 28–September 13, 2020.

Public Use

Would you like to share information about Black Friday in South Africa with your recipients? You can freely use the infographics presented in the report and distribute the results and conclusions of the report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes, indicating the author of this study (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage. For more information or higher resolution infographics, please contact: research@picodi.com

Archival data about Black Friday

Check out Black Friday statistics from previous years:

• Black Week: time for sales lovers
• Black Friday in the eyes of South Africans
• Black Friday 2018 in South Africa. What do the numbers tell us?
• Summary of Black Friday 2017
• Black Friday around the world.

Learn about Black Friday 2021 in other parts of the world