Krugersdorp’s incident free Black Friday
"We had crazy volumes of people coming into the store and grabbing whatever was on the shelves, but luckily our great employees refilled the shelves speedily."
Anticipation for Black Friday could be felt all over as store owners and employees anxiously stuck star-shaped placards announcing incredible specials below exciting products.
Managers gave motivational speeches before opening doors to enthusiastic customers who’d been waiting in front of the stores since the early hours of 25 November. In some malls and stores, unbearably large crowds moved swiftly through the narrow aisles, grabbing whatever they could, before stock flew off the shelves.
Unlike the crazy videos of Black Fridays gone wrong in the US, South Africa had a considerably calmer day.
In Krugersdorp, customers were calm and courteous. Key West Shopping Centre had various stores that participated and management didn’t report any hostility between shoppers.
“It was noticeably busier in the store,” Michelle Papastefano, store manager said. “But we didn’t have any stock theft, nor did we have incidents between customers. There was no shoplifting reported to management either.”
Although it was a calm shopping day, it must be remembered that South Africa is a relative newbie to the concept of Black Friday. Some stores only started to participate in the specials day last year.
Photo: Twitter
“Most of Key West’s stores participated in and acknowledged Black Friday last year, but 2016 has definitely seen a boom in retail participation and awareness on this day. With consumers wanting great deals,”
“I imagine Black Fridays becoming bigger and greater each year.”
This year, restaurants joined in with great burger specials such as ‘buy one, get one free’.
President Hyper Krugersdorp also joined in, but called their specials day Blue Friday instead .
“It is a much more soothing colour and it reflects our credibility,” said Basil Synodinos, CEO of President Hyper group. The superstore focused more on having products that are on special the entire day instead of just having specials.
“We had crazy volumes of people coming into the store and grabbing whatever was on the shelves, but luckily our great employees refilled the shelves speedily.”
The general feedback from employees, customers and store owners was positive as customers were civil, respectful, humble and dignified.
“It was an overwhelmingly happy day for us all,” Basil said.
South African retail stores still have the freedom to decide how much of a discount to offer to shoppers and on what products, and, because Black Friday is still relatively new in South Africa, retailers have the opportunity to run their specials online to avoid the possible chaos in stores.
Photo: Twitter
Shopping mall owners are excited for the future of Black Friday in the country and wish all their customers a Merry Christmas.
“We hope to see you all on Black Friday next year.”
Also read:
Key West silent robbery shocks shoppers
Police warn against online Black Friday scams
6 Black Friday online shopping tips
Top 10 tips to prepare for Black Friday
