TONIA ‘DIYAN recalls the memories of Black Friday as shoppers made good bargains.
Lack Friday is set aside for jaw-dropping discounts on most products in major retail outlets online and offline. It is an opportunity to pay less and get more. The level of discounts and products involved is determined by the retailer.
Expectedly, the media blitz that heralded the Black Friday, which gained popularity from an American tradition in which retailers are urged to give for the sake of humanity, was monumental in Nigeria.
Making of Black Friday
The Black Friday festival sales started in the United States.It is the Friday following Thanks Giving Day, after the fourth Thursday in November.
Since 1932, maybe because of its proximity to Christmas, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and most major retailers open early to offer promo sales.
Nigerians’ experience
The Nigerian shopper has struck good bargain on purchases. Thankfully, it’s a time when most retail shops give out mouth-watering offers to attract buyers to their outlets. This trend is no longer news as it has come to stay in the country.
Four years ago, the first-ever Black Friday sale happened when e-commerce was still in its infancy in Nigeria and the phenomenon has since gained popularity amongst the enlightened.
According to a retail expert, Mr Afam Anyika, former Jumia Marketing Manager and former Yudala Marketing Communications Manager, “Black Friday Promo means different things to different people, but what cuts across is that an average Nigerian sees Black Friday as an opportunity to buy products at a much cheaper rate.
It is an event for which they have waited an entire year. They therefore see it as an avenue of buying products which they struggle to afford on a normal shopping day. Some people embrace Black Friday to stock up edible goods in their houses as well.”
Justification for Black Friday
During Black Friday, businesses are to reward shoppers who are loyal to their brands. Feedback is positive and the level of engagement continues to be on the increase. The last four years of Black Friday in this part of the world, has facilitated the adoption of e-commerce processes and encouraged the expansion of trade systems for indigenous businesses.
This year’s event saw major retail outlets testify to massive sales made because of the huge turnout at their various outlets. They expressed appreciation to Nigerians for coming out en mass to buy discounted items.
Major retail outlet owners have said after the huge success of the Black Friday this year, that they are optimistic the proposition has become much stronger than ever, and it’s going to become much bigger in the coming years.
Spokesperson for Spar, Hypermarket Mr. John Goldsmith, said Spar extended the Black Friday sale for another three days until November 30, by adding new products to the shelves and making existing offers better.
At Spar, shoppers turned out from all walks of life and income groups. Management of the retail store told The Nation Shopping that they witnessed more than double the number of people who visit their stores daily.
According to them, all Spar outlets witnessed unprecedented response from shoppers. Spar in smaller cities, such as Calabar and Enugu witnessed phenomenal growth over last year’s. Enugu being a new city where SPAR opened a store last August had huge crowd responding to Black Friday.
In terms of the number of shoppers and sales, the SPAR management said their outlets in Enugu and Calabar gave stiff competition to other stores in the major cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Black Friday, they said, is no more a big city phenomenon, as it has spread beyond and has penetrated small cities and towns.
To make this year’s Black Friday successful, retail outlets created massive awareness of the promo, covering both traditional and digital outlets.
The campaign was all over the place – radio, billboards, lampposts, newspaper ads, social media, online display and banners. Retailers call it a 360-degree communication media mix.
Spar offered over 5,000 products discounted at 70 per cent. The products spread across a wide range of categories namely: electronics, home appliances, laptops, mobile phones, perfumes, watches, clothing, furniture, food & grocery, day-to-day household items, wine, spirits and beer.
Like Spar, retail giant Shoprite also offered discount of almost 50 percent in some house hold appliances, including beverages, groceries and other products. Opening hours at the store was extended from 7am-10pm to give opportunity to every person partaking in the Black Friday sales.
For retailers, particularly those who are online, the concept of Black Friday has opened up a whole new avenue for marketing in Nigeria. In the last four years, they say they have recorded tremendous traffic on Black Friday. They said more Nigerians are getting aware of the significant shopping event, and the expectations of shoppers are heightened with many waiting till Black Friday to make strategic purchases.
According to an online merchant, Osamede Evbakhavboku, Managing Director, Gidimall, who has imported all the western method of shopping in the last four years, “Black Friday boosts the country’s economy by connecting more customers to great businesses. They say it helps consumers get more value for their money and actually save towards enjoying a product they may not have tried otherwise.”
Evbakhavboku said his colleagues as well as himself witnessed slight increase at the beginning of the Black Friday week, adding that it is because people are searching for great prices on the internet. He also noted that with the success of e-commerce and tech businesses in the country, Nigerians are more comfortable shopping online and more open to enjoying the benefits of the Black Friday trend.
Some shoppers who spoke to The Nation Shopping shared their experiences in trying to purchase items at cheap rates on Black Friday.
A Lagos journalist said she was able to buy some discounted items at favourable prices.
“I got to Ikeja City Mall around 4.30pm on Black Friday and the first thing that caught my attention was the number of people wheeling trolleys of drinks and cooking oil into the expansive car park. There were so many trolleys heaped mostly with cartons of malt drinks, power oil, Laziz Oil and Indomie noodles.
‘’I also noticed packs of origin drinks, water and other soft drink brands.
‘’It was clear that Shoprite was where the Black Friday deals were hottest. Many other shops were too quiet in comparison.
‘’At Shoprite I met a crowded shop. There were no trolleys or baskets available in their usual place on the left by the entrance. I only saw queues of mountain high trolleys in all directions. There were even trolley queues to get out of the shop with paid goods.
‘’There was no queue that day – obviously no time for that – instead, there were many shoppers hanging outside the two back stores behind the aisles. They were waiting for shoprite workers to bring out more goods with deals.
‘’I counted myself lucky to get a bag of eight 900g Omo packs, which sold for N479.99 per pack compared to the wholesale price of N675 in the market. I also bought the Power Oil three-litre bottle for N1,800. I could not buy Dano milk, which sold for N600 for 400g sachet as against N1000.
‘’I learnt that Dettol 500ml bottle sold at N999.99 (former price was N1,800) with a free bar of soap attached to it; Laziz Oil sold for N3,000; Malt for N2,000 and a pack of soft drink N850.
‘’I managed to pay for my goods on time by offering to share my bag of Omo with a woman who was close to the till. Luckily, I did not have to split the detergent because I found more for her to buy,” she said.
Another shopper Fuad Adelaja also went home with a cheap item. ”When I heard of Black Friday, I was delighted that I wouldn’t miss it like I did last year. I had saved the date on my phone diary to enable me stay in touch. But I refused to fall victim to tricks online. I, therefore, headed to Spar at Ilupeju where I bought a musical set at a cheap rate of N25,000. Originally, this goes for N60,000. I will say I am fulfilled.”
Unlike the journalist and Adelaja, there were some disappointed shoppers who visited shops with unfriendly offers. One of such disappointed buyers was Kadiri Lawale, who had listed several items, especially electronics, he wanted to buy in the price slash bonanza.
“My sister, I couldn’t even buy one product. I had been dreaming of buying a television set, but when I saw the price, I merely went back to sleep, it was a rip-off,” he said refusing to mention the name of shop.
Anothe shopper, Patience Vincent, said she was disappointed that none of the online shops slashed their products’ prices by 70 percent like they promise to.” It was as if they were telling us, ‘take what we have or nothing.”
He said he bought a few things not because their prices were slashed, but because he needed them.”When I saw that none of the four online shops I visited in the early hours of Friday abided with the percent slash they had offered, I finally decided to patronise one of them, just because I had decided to buy some things, irrespective of the poor price slash they had offered,” he said.
Kemisola Shobanjo also narrated her ordeal while trying to make cheap purchases on Black Friday. Her words: “My experience on Black Friday was not palatable. I found that the percent discount the stores promised was not real. They all did not give out more than 50 percent on items displayed. When I thought I was lucky to find an item with 50 percent, shortly after I clicked on it, I was told it was out of stock. I think the whole Black Friday idea was not real; it is a way of ripping off Nigerians. Also, I think it is just a way of luring people to their website to convince them to buy.”
She added that ‘’what is being practised here is not Black Friday as it is done in the western world. In the UK, for instance, on Black Fridays, people are sure to buy items at very cheap rates, at the percentage advertised. In Nigeria, the reverse is the case. So, why deceive poor Nigerians who are managing to make ends meet because of our very poor economy.”
