Black Friday 2024: A Guide for South African Online Retailers

Global retail, whether offline or online, is currently in a precarious position, with many South African brands having a brutal July and August. However, while the last few months have been tough, the promise of a hyper-focused sales opportunity bodes well for those who are focused on innovation and well-prepared. According to Bankserv Africa, Black Friday sales in South Africa from 2023 totalled R4.5 billion, and while the transaction value of R3.1 billion was 21% lower than the previous year, there is no doubt that Black Friday and its tech-focused counterpart Cyber ​​Monday can be a boost to both checkouts and morale.

TDMC Chief Development Officer Duncan Colville and Chief Media Officer Caleb Shepard are intimately familiar with Black Friday and have years of experience advising numerous digital media agency e-commerce clients on best practices. They share their tried-and-true advice, as well as new insights, to help e-commerce operators achieve the best results on Black Friday.

Learn from your customers

The shift in customer profiles is underway, and can be seen in the impact that younger, more savvy consumers are having on retail. Temu and Shein have significant influence on retailers, but there’s also a growing silo of consumers who focus on quality. “This is an opportunity to amplify the messaging around that element of the offering in organic and paid content, both generally and especially in the run-up to Black Friday weekend,” advises Shepard.

On the other hand, customers are more cost-conscious than ever, keen price watchers and comparison shoppers, and have certain discount expectations. “We advise customers to be cautious about discounts: Smaller discounts of 10% and 20% tend to be less popular, but bundled deals are becoming more popular,” Colville says. He says aggressive discounts of up to 50%, especially on high-demand items, are a sure-fire way to drive traffic to your site. “The most important thing is to have adequate inventory to meet high-volume sales and to be able to efficiently sell and deliver to impress and retain that customer,” he says. “We encourage a 24-hour shipping system with 3- to 5-day delivery windows in major cities.”

First page data first

There’s never been a more opportune time to leverage first-party data to drive sales and build strong customer communities. TDMC is a leader and advocate for this essential component of e-commerce. By analyzing online browsing and purchasing behavior and tracking individual journeys, data can be used to create customer-centric paths that lead to closing sales. “We leverage our own deep knowledge and experience and combine it with AI to implement advanced, personalized email flows and strategies. Events like Black Friday are also essential for collecting valuable data that will be very useful in the future,” Colville says.

Innovation and agility

As one of the few verified and top Shopify, Meta Business Partner, and Google Partner experts in Sub-Saharan Africa, TDMC is at the forefront of e-commerce innovation. “Black Friday is a chance for retailers to take advantage of AI’s offerings, from creating personalized product recommendations to maximizing SEO optimization and leveraging effective lead generation channels,” Colville says. He suggests considering AI-powered chatbots for immediate answers, but not sacrificing human support for more complex queries.

Colville emphasizes the importance of precise planning. “Plan to communicate with customers about delivery and return standards and frequently asked questions, make sure you have enough inventory, and that your picking and packing processes are smooth. If you’re working with high volumes, consider optimizing your delivery processes by using a third-party warehousing and e-commerce fulfillment service like Parcel Ninja or Barco.”

Colville adds that payment gateway processes should be checked for errors, and retailers should consider meeting customers where they are with Buy Now, Pay Later options. Similarly, having an effective cart abandonment strategy and customer exit points with pop-ups or sign-up options is a useful addition.

With Black Friday promotions set to ignite the media and entice customers, all retailers need to get their processes and offers in order. Shepard explains that South Africa is somewhat unique in its positioning, with its brick-and-mortar versus online silos, saying: “South African retail is still very much focused on brick-and-mortar versus the global benchmark. A recent presentation by Peach Payments (one of our preferred payment partners) cited a global retail split of 28% online versus 72% offline, while locally the split is reported by www.onlineretailreport as 7% versus 93% brick-and-mortar, showing that while brick-and-mortar still has a lot of value, there is a huge opportunity for growth in online retail.”

While Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday may not be what they used to be around the world, these retail sales periods remain key. “Some brands are using this period as an opportunity to reinforce their ‘no-sales’ approach to business during this time, standing out from the crowd by not participating,” Shepard says. No matter what strategy you choose, these basics of e-commerce preparation and operations are key to staying ahead of the competition.