Across the globe, the total media exposure on ‘Black Friday’ reached 45,900 (and counting) since the beginning of November, increasing by 103% since the same time last year. This is the most talked-about shopping day of the year.
Since Monday, 18 November 2019, global media intelligence company, Meltwater, has been tracking social media conversations around Black Friday to see where exactly South Africans will be spending their money on the day.
Globally, there have been 45,900 social media mentions of ‘Black Friday’ and ‘#blackfriday’ between 18 November and 25 November. In Africa alone, there have been 2,034 mentions this past week, but it is South Africa that has dominated Black Friday online conversations.
South Africans have accounted for 56.59% of social media conversations across Africa, and it has mainly been businesses, brands and even banks, that have taken this week to advertise their deals and savings to online customers.
The South African social reach of ‘Black Friday’ and ‘#blackfriday’ has consistently been close to 1 million people on Twitter, with Monday 25 November reaching a high of 4.50 million people. According to a report done by PwC, this year’s Black Friday will be the biggest one to date in South Africa.
Social media has been an important source for research when it comes to finding deals.
Black Friday is all about the deals, discounts and savings. When it comes to the trending themes around ‘Black Friday’ and ‘#blackfriday’, South Africans are particularly interested in getting ‘exclusive reminders’ about when certain Black Friday deals go live and finding deals that are ‘half price'.
One Twitter user poked fun at how funeral parlours will be offering their own Black Friday deals, and this particular tweet – which had a total social reach of 199,000 people - garnered social media attention that had Twitter users joining in on the humour.
Yazi these funeral parlours advertising Black Friday are really tempting us to die.
— Xhosa is������™® (@TakaTina1) November 19, 2019
Like if I die on #BlackFriday I will be buried on half price, that means I will save enough money to go on a nice holiday in January pic.twitter.com/dSvSxdwavt
52.3% of social media users feel good about the discounts and deals that await them this week, while 29.7% of social media users have neutral feelings towards the day and opted to share advice on how to prepare for the upcoming day.
One of the top brands driving ‘Black Friday’ anticipation this week is Superbalist. In the build-up to its ‘Black Friday Spoiler’, which begins today, the online shopping brand has been giving away vouchers since 13 November for customers to use online this Friday.
This month alone, the #SuperbalistSpoiler hashtag has been used 20,500 times on social media, but it was this tweet on 13 November that had social media users in a frenzy. The hashtag peaked on the day, reaching 13.4 million people on social media. The following week, on 20 November, this number dropped to 6.98 million people as Superbalist asked that its tweet be retweeted 100 times in order for a voucher to be won. But yesterday, the traction on the hashtag picked up again as it reached 12.8 million people.
Another brand that has received some online traction for Black Friday is Takealot, with 10,200 social media mentions since 18 November. Its ‘#BlueDotSale’ hashtag blew up on Monday, 25 November, with the hashtag having a social reach of 18.3 million people. The traction it received is due to Takealot’s tweet, announcing the chance for online users to win their share of R100,000 in prizes. Trending themes include the 'R100 000' share of 'prizes' to be won, and the announcement of an online user who won the 'Acer Extensa Intel Celeron N3060 15.6" Notebook'.
With three days to go before the biggest day of the retail calendar, South Africans have been vocal on social media when it comes to their preparations for the big day. Brands and businesses have done well in using social media to advertise their deals online, and while there are mixed feelings surrounding the day, Meltwater says this year’s Black Friday is set to be a record-breaking shopping day.
