Despite spending over R30 billion last year, South African shoppers are growing tired of Black Friday gimmicks and shifting toward smarter, more values-driven buying.
Bulelwa Hoala
South Africans spent more than R30 billion on Black Friday in 2024.
According to the Daily Maverick, the single-highest individual transactions were for R3,328,422 by a corporate client and R551,128 for an individual.
Consumers are gearing up for another record-breaking Black Friday on 28 November 2025, but this year the real story is not sales, but the shift in shoppers’ psychology.
Many consumers are growing tired of the hype, gimmicks, and endless “limited-time” deals.
Marketing specialist Mathabo Sekhonyana joined Nzinga Qunta who is standing in for Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz.
She noted that while Black Friday remains a big moment in South African retail, shoppers are becoming more savvy and skeptical.
“Black Friday has been a sort of stalwart in South African retail markets, especially for consumers thinking about discounts going into the festive season and going into that January period of back to school,” Sekhonyana explained.
“The difference now is the way that consumers and businesses have begun approaching Black Friday in the last five to ten years. Consumers now have, I would say, sort of a discount fatigue.”
Sekhonyana recalled how consumers would take leave on the last Friday of November to grab the best deals; however, that excitement has since faded away.
“As retailers have gotten into a discount loop, consumers have started to see through some of the more nefarious tactics.”
“About five years ago is where we started to see a lot of discernment on the consumer’s part, where retailers would be dropping the price for the day, but it’s actually the price that they had a month ago, for example.”
Sekhonyana said today’s shopper is better informed and values-driven.
“We’re seeing the consumer going as far as getting price tracking apps, going through comparisons, really planning and thwarting almost retailers’ plans.
“On top of that, the consumer of today is still shopping during Black Friday and is still very price-conscious, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to spend their business with you. We’re asking a very values driven consumer that does punish retailers for that kind of bad ethics or malpractice,” she added.
Listen to the full conversation on the podcast below:
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The post Black Friday Fatigue: South Africans are over the hype appeared first on KAYA 959.
