7 things you didn't know about Black Friday in South Africa – including the surprising popularity of coffee and cereals 2018
According to Nielsen, Black Friday was responsible for around R1.36 billion in extra sales last November – just in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Nielsen retail data shows that that FMCG sales, such as toiletries and packaged food, was up by that amount compared the the previous three months of that year. Measured against 2016 sales, the increase was even bigger. Long-life pantry products are hugely popular on Black Friday. According to Nielsen, South Africans are using Black Friday to stock their pantries, purchasing goods with longer shelf-life like coffee, ready-to-eat cereals, squashes, and cordials. Nielsen South Africa's Kerith Botha says that while Black Friday drove FMCG sales, certain categories were immune to discounts and did not entice additional consumption at a lower price. These included goods that have a limited shelf life, or do not fit into small cupboard or freezers. For staples such as bread, consumers switched to discou...