By Lerato Ndlovu
This years’ Black Friday is set to be different from the one people are used to due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has changed how people operate and affected the economy.
For Zimbabweans who were used to travelling to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia for such occasions in preparation for Christmas and New Year celebrations this year will be different, because of the travelling embargo induced by the Covid-19 pandemic that hinders them from travelling freely to the bordering countries for shopping at lower prices.
With the economic crunch that the country is facing citizens are waiting to see if the few shops in the country that had adopted the black Friday spirit will be joining again this year.
These shops include: Edgars, Jet, TV sales and Hire, Mattress Furnitures, etc.
For those in countries with retailers such as Game and Makro will be in celebration for they have upped their operations as they will host a full month for the day offering different deals with the first set to be announced and launched online on the 1st of November and be available exclusively for that week.
Massmart which owns both the retailers stated that traditionally this occasion sees a number of shoppers; with the presence of the pandemic it can create a challenging environment if concentrated into a day or week.
“Black Friday traditionally sees high concentrations of shoppers in retail stores across the country, which can create a challenging shopping environment, therefore, we have taken the decision to reimagine the way we do Black Friday in 2020.
“In an effort to create a more consumer-friendly Black Friday experience while adhering to all Covid-19 and social distancing protocols, Makro and Game have taken the decision to extend the duration of our Black Friday promotion,” they said.
Game Management stated that the same Black Friday deals will be available both online and in-store, and newsletter subscribers will have early viewing access to all Black Friday deals,
“As a responsible retailer, we do not want to encourage our shoppers to flock to stores at midnight, However, it is important that consumers are aware that these deals will only run for the week in which they are announced – and they are never to be repeated. When these deals are gone, they’re gone.”
Black Friday was introduced in 1951. It was used to describe people calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving. After securing the sick day leave people would hit the shops to get a head start on the Christmas shopping.
While this all sounds negative, the term was firmly positive for retailers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was actually one of the most profitable for them. Just as they still do today, accountants used black to show profit gain when recording each day in their account book, while red was a sign of a loss. So Black Friday became linked to the black of the account book, with retailers promoting it as almost an unofficial ‘shopping holiday’.
