Game’s big Black Friday question

Massmart-owned Game has yet to reveal its plans for Black Friday 2024, which falls on Friday, 29 November this year.

Massmart told MyBroadband that it isn’t ready to reveal its plan. It remains to be seen whether Game will follow a similar approach to previous Black Friday sales.

The company reintroduced month-long deals in 2023 based on consumer research. It launched weekly deals from 1 until 28 November, opening a new category of deals each week.

Massmart chief customer officer Andrew Stein told MyBroadband that allowing a month-long sale provides extra time for customers to validate whether they are getting a good deal.

“Massmart’s customers have been clear that they prefer month-long promotions as they have more time to compare pricing and shop the items they really need and are able to avoid the Black Friday rush,” he said.

“This also has the beneficial effect of spreading what would otherwise be very concentrated customer demand.”

“With our strong store presence, online home delivery or online in-store pickup offerings, we’re ready to make this Black Friday a convenient and stress-free shopping experience,” he added.

Massmart’s chief merchant officer, Herman Venter, added that customers should use price comparison tools before deciding to buy a product.

He said last year that Massmart’s merchandising team had worked for more than a year to secure the best possible prices.

It will also be interesting to see how Massmart approaches Black Friday this year after launching small-format Makro stores inside Game locations within malls.

The company embarked on a project to replace four in-mall Game stores with small concept 3,000m² Makro stores in April 2024.

In recent feedback to MyBroadband, it said the project is progressing well and that it will invite some partners to preview the stores before they open.

It has yet to reveal where the pilot stores will launch.

It also introduced a Roblox “metaverse” game — The Black Friday Game — in 2023, letting shoppers stand a chance to win a share of R10,000 in store vouchers.

Game’s game mixed South African culture and fantasy in a race around a city neighbourhood.

MyBroadband tested the game and found it to be entertaining. Players could use potholes as portals, visit a rooftop DJ party, and dodge goo from exploding pigeons while racing around the neighbourhood.

The top player won R5,000 in vouchers each day, the second R3,000 and the third R2,000.

The game was open to all ages. However, players had to be at least 13 years old to be eligible to win vouchers.

We found that it could be pretty challenging to improve your lap times to crack the top three.

The shift back to month-long deals came after Game offered just a single day of Black Friday deals in 2022. It had offered a similar month-long promotion in 2021.

Big shift in Black Friday spending

On Black Friday 2023, online payment platform Payfast revealed that South African shoppers were more strategic when making purchases in comparison with previous years.

Managing director Brendon Williamson said experienced Black Friday customers planned and pre-selected products and leveraged price reductions weeks before the sales event.

“With access to platforms that monitor item products over time, shoppers can gain valuable insights into price fluctuations throughout the year, and gauge whether their wish-listed products really are at a good price,” he said.

“It’s no longer just about shopping — it’s a strategic approach.”

Payfast said retailers selling general merchandise or convenience food stores, family clothing stores, and discount stores came out on top on the day. Consumers stocked up on essentials and small treats following a tough financial year.

Its findings correlated with Takealot’s, which also found that groceries and essentials were its most popular products last year.