Is Black Friday the silver bullet for both business and consumer?

Black Friday which was once associated with an American retail event has gained significant popularity in South Africa.

The massive shopping gateway that occurs on the last Friday in November has been rumored to be the silver bullet, paving the gateway to various opportunities for businesses to accelerate their growth to maximize profits.

Formal retail sales for Black Friday and the festive season are expected to top R60.4 billion.

The simplified version is that the shopping extravaganza and marketing anker offers opportunities for business to accelerate their growth in a number of ways.

How?

Increased sales revenue, as Black Friday provides businesses with a unique gap to boost their sales including revenue in a short period.

Attractive discounts, including promotions, attract customers and encourage shoppers to migrate to stores translating to increased revenue for the day.

Black Friday can also be an excellent opportunity for businesses to clear old stock, and retain customers while acquiring new customers.  Offering special deals and discounts can attract first-time buyers who may become repeat customers.

The important plan

While there are a number of ways to maximize profits on Black Friday, preparation is one aspect that is crucial for any business and according to Capital Connect CEO Steven Heilbron identifying opportunities and seizing those opportunities are key factors necessary for any business to grow.

The challenge is access to instant and hassle-free capital, according to Heilbron and those that seize opportunity will benefit while those that don’t will be left behind.

Capital Connect lets businesses take advantage of that opportunity by providing a platform that provides easy access to capital.

Through the use of non-traditional systems of evaluation, Capital Connect enables retailers to thrive while seizing the moment.

It’s far more expensive to lose an opportunity, according to Heilbron.

The silver bullet

The term silver bullet has loosely implied the weapon that would ensure a result.  By definition, a silver bullet is the only weapon that could kill a werewolf or a magical solution to a complicated problem.

The idea for a silver bullet in the form of Black Friday holds as businesses that diversify will reap the benefits according to Professor Carel Van Aardt, who predicts that 2023 may be lower than 2019 in gains, yet 2024 will surpass 2019.

We can expect the line between the festive season and Black Friday to blur according to Heilbron.

Black Friday is expected to create around 150 000 job opportunities mostly seasonal and temporary, according to the Bereau of Market Research, which forecasts some performance by the retail subsector for the period between 29 October and 26 November 2023.

Cash-strapped consumers will focus on bargain hunting for essentials rather than spoiling themselves, with cheaper non-branded clothing.

Cheaper items, especially children’s clothing, women’s clothing, shoes and clothing accessories are predicted to likely sell well.

Retailers diversifying in the form of pharmaceutical and medical goods should reap the benefits.

The win

Adding new product ranges, acquiring more businesses, and branching out new service offerings are some of the ways businesses can seize the opportunity

Through fast fintech funding, this can be made possible and Capital Connect says retailers can apply for a business load of up to R 5 million from the app with the funds accessible within 24 hours.  No red tape or audited financials.

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