Love it or hate it, Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping holidays of the year, and its popularity is growing year-on-year. South African consumers spent R139 billion during Black Friday 2024, marking a R12.2 billion increase from the previous year.
As a business, it’s easy to get lost in the frenzy and succumb to the pressure to slash prices to the bone. There are, however, much smarter ways to go about it. The brands that win the Black Friday game are the ones who make strategic decisions that actually add value for customers, for margins, and for long-term growth.
Sound tough? It’s not. It’s just a matter of strategy with a dash of consumer psychology. In this article, we’ll lay out some solid advice that will help you turn Black Friday into more than just a short-term gain.
1. Use Discounts to Grow Carts, Not Shrink Margins
Most e-commerce stores fall into the trap that the only discount mechanic is a sitewide (“20% off everything”).
The problem?
It trains customers to wait for markdowns and erodes your margins. A smarter play is to design promotions that increase average order value (AOV).
Here are three simple ways to get people to increase their spending on your site:
3-for-2 Deals
Customers walk away with more products, and you protect margin on two of them. It’s a win-win.
Spend X, Save Y
Example: “Spend R1000, get R150 off.” Customers add that extra item to up their spend value and unlock the deal. You increase your AOV.
Bundle Offers
Package a hero product with accessories at a slight discount. Customers feel they’re getting a deal, but you’re moving more inventory and boosting cart size.
Adidas does this well. They are known for leveraging 3 for 2 sales. Instead of cutting 20% off the whole site, these tactics reward customers for buying more, not less.
2. Use Black Friday as a PR moment, not just a sales day
Yes, Black Friday is about sales. But it’s also about attention.
The internet is buzzing, people are searching for deals, and the media is curating endless “best of Black Friday” lists. That’s a golden opportunity to get your brand noticed.
Get people talking (or typing)
Think beyond discounts.
Ask: What can we do that will make people talk about us?
That could be something as simple as pitching your unique offers to influencers early so you land a spot in those roundup lists. Or it could be something bold, like Patagonia’s legendary “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad, which flipped Black Friday on its head and made headlines everywhere.
Try tie your promotions to a bigger story.
Donate a percentage of sales to a cause your customers care about. Launch a quirky limited-edition product.
Take a stand on something that matters. These kinds of moves not only drive sales, they build long-term brand love.
But here’s the catch: you can’t wing it the week before. The brands that win the PR game on Black Friday plan early. They know what story they want to tell and how to get it in front of the right people. Do that, and Black Friday becomes more than a spike in revenue; it becomes free publicity you couldn’t buy with ad spend.
3. Build your email list with “early access” products or specials
Email isn’t just another channel, it’s your hotline to people who actually want to hear from you. And here’s the kicker: it works. For every $1 spent, email delivers an average $36 in return. And if that’s not convincing enough, more than half of shoppers say they’ve bought something directy from an email.
That’s why Black Friday is the perfect time to grow your list. Don’t just dangle discounts, offer early access or a “VIP first look” to anyone who signs up. People love the feeling of being in on something before everyone else.
And the best part? Those subscribers don’t disappear when the sale is over. They stick around. Which means you can talk to them about new launches, special offers, or even just the story behind your brand. One Black Friday signup can turn into a customer who buys again and again.
4. Use flexible payments that fit real South African budgets
The reality is that South Africans’ overall spending is on the rise, but wallets are tight. Discovery reported that in 2024, card transactions jumped 37% compared to the previous Black Friday. People want to shop, but inflation means they don’t always have the cash to drop it all in one go.
That’s where flexible payments come in. Tools like Float make it easier for shoppers to say yes without the stress of cashflow or long approval processes. Because Float is card-linked, customers can spread out payments while you still get paid upfront.
And it works. For bigger-ticket items, the impact is massive. Take Cycle Lab as an example: their in-store orders processed through Float came in at an average of 754% bigger than regular orders. That’s not just a lift, it’s a whole new way of converting hesitant browsers into confident buyers.
And don’t wait until checkout to mention flexible payments. Highlight interest-free instalment payment options early on product pages, banners, or even in your emails. That way, shoppers know upfront they have the freedom to spread payments. In a recent Float case study, merchants who put the payment option on their product details page saw an increase of 240%+ in conversions!
5. Put your core products in the spotlight
Centre your promotions on those products. Tell their story through email, social posts, and PR. Build bundles or exclusive offers that make them feel like the “must-have” of the season. When you do that, you’re not just chasing sales, you’re reinforcing what your brand stands for.
When you take this approach, the payoff goes beyond one weekend. Highlighting your core products can help you capture leads, get press mentions, boost SEO with optimised landing pages, and even introduce customers to complementary items. It’s all about turning the Black Friday spike into long-term recognition and repeat business.
Take Dyson as an example. During Black Friday, they spotlight their flagship vacuums, like the V15 Detect and V11 Absolute, with exclusive bundles and early access deals. The result? Immediate sales and a stronger claim to being the go-to brand for premium vacuums. They really don’t suck at Black Friday. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist that one!)
Wrap-up: Make Black Friday work harder for you
South African consumers are still spending, just smarter. They’re turning to virtual cards to avoid fraud and using flexible payment options to spread the financial impact. Over 2024’s Black Friday weekend, Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) transactions grew by a whopping 198% in rand value, compared to 2023. That’s not a trend, it’s a full-on shift in how people want to shop.
Here’s why that matters for you: when you build your strategy around core products, email-driven early access, flexible payments, smart PR, and brand comms that keep the buzz going, you’re using Black Friday to play the infinite game. You’re forging deeper connections, repeat business, and a brand that sticks.
Black Friday can be a powerful launchpad, just make sure you’re playing the long game.