Malls gear up for Black Friday

21 Nov 2016

The countdown to Black Friday has begun. And retailers across the country are preparing for an influx of shoppers on the busiest shopping day of the year.

Malls around the country have stocked up, added more parking and beefed up security for the expected Christmas bargain rush.

Black Friday, which began in the US, is relatively new in South Africa, but over the past three years retailers have recorded a spike in sales of more than 200%.

Menlyn Park mall in Pretoria is expecting at least 100,000 customers on the day.

Spokesman Karina van den Heever said the centre was holding its second Black Friday after last year's proved to be highly successful.

''We have extra security and extended shopping hours," she said.

The R2.5bn revamped centre, she said, was ready for the mayhem and would re-open on Thursday.

She said that to ensure a pleasant shopping experience the centre had introduced a park-and-ride service at the Glenstantia Primary School from 24 to 27 November. The service will run every half hour from 8am to 5pm.

Shopping hours at the mall will be extended to 9pm from 24 November.

Major retailers such as Game, Samsung and Makro are offering discounts throughout the weekend.

Gamers can also cash in on Xbox One deals. Microsoft, manufacturer of the console, announced it would offer discounted Xbox One bundle deals for R3,999, which include the console and a game, such as Fifa 17. The console usually sells for about R5,000.

And if the crowds are too much to handle, online sites are also cashing in.

Takealot is calling its discount weekend the Blue Dot Sale.

Julie-Ann Walsh, chief marketing officer of Takealot, said that last year's sale showed growth of more than 200%.

She gave the assurance that the site was ready to handle the surge in web traffic.

''We have 10000 products and discounts of up to 60%. There are some discounts of 80%," she said.

Source: The Times

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