Black Friday 2025 (28 November) represents massive opportunity – South African consumers spent over R30 billion across just three banks in 2024, with online transactions up 14% YoY. However, planning for just one day means missing 80% of the opportunity.
The Digital Media Collective (TDMC) shares insights and its learnings from helping South African e-commerce brands navigate peak trading periods over the past several years.
Why this matters
Black Friday 2024 shattered records with over R30 billion spent across just three major banks, while Nedbank processed more than R3 billion in settlements – a 12% increase from their previous high. The broader economic impact reached R88 billion boost to South Africa’s economy, with retail sales hitting R169 billion in December versus R114 billion monthly average (Source: Daily Maverick, Bureau of Market Research).
Crucially: online transactions comprised over half of all Black Friday sales, with mobile commerce representing 67% of transactions (Source: PayU South Africa).
1. Think beyond Black Friday: The extended calendar
“We’ve seen too many brands focus exclusively on Black Friday weekend and miss the broader opportunity,” says Caleb Shepard, media director at TDMC. “Consumer behaviour has evolved significantly, with shoppers using November as preparation for a month-long festive season.”
Your strategic calendar should span early November teaser campaigns through Cyber Week, followed by December Christmas campaigns and January New Year/Back-to-School promotions. This three-part strategy focuses on November for customer acquisition, December for maximising basket values and January for clearing inventory while capturing resolution shoppers.
Action point: Map your promotional calendar across this extended timeline rather than concentrating on a single weekend.
2. Technical infrastructure that converts
Card payments declined from 93% in 2022 to 84% in 2024, signalling customer demand for payment diversity (Source: PayU South Africa). Your infrastructure must include BNPL integration (PayJustNow, Payflex, Mobicred), digital wallets (Zapper, SnapScan, PayFast), and PayShap, which processed over R3 billion in November 2024 (Source: Nedbank).
“We’ve witnessed clients lose significant revenue simply because they didn’t offer the payment methods their customers preferred,” notes Shepard. With mobile purchases representing 67% of transactions, prioritise sub-three second load times, CDN activation, real-time inventory displays and abandoned cart SMS sequences.
Action point: Audit your payment options and site performance immediately. Gaps in mobile optimisation directly impact conversion rates.
3. Strategic discounting without brand damage
Black Friday 2024 saw South Africans prioritising essential purchases, with grocery shopping accounting for 27% of spending (Source: Standard Bank). “The temptation towards loss-leader pricing can destroy long-term brand value,” warns Shepard. “Successful retailers implement minimum viable discounts of 20-30%, utilising tiered schedules that start lighter and deepen for peak days.”
Bundle strategies focusing on essential purchases proved particularly effective in 2024.
Action point: Develop subscriber-only early access deals to build first-party data whilst avoiding broad market devaluation.
4. Creative assets and media strategy
“Creative fatigue and messaging saturation is real during extended promotional periods,” explains Shepard. “Effective campaigns require five-to-eight different creative variations with audience-specific messaging.”
Increase media spend by 25-30% to account for higher competition whilst front-loading budget allocation for early November. Multi-platform approaches across Google Ads, Meta and TikTok prove essential for reaching younger demographics through social commerce.
Action point: Begin creative development well in advance. Last-minute changes during peak periods result in suboptimal performance.
5. Customer experience optimisation
“At TDMC, we’ve learned that brands who dominate Black Friday obsess over every touchpoint,” says Shepard. Critical elements include enhanced search and filtering, social proof and urgency indicators, strategically implemented exit-intent popups and clear value propositions.
Post-purchase excellence differentiates successful retailers through automated confirmation sequences, proactive shipping communication, and prepared customer service scripts.
Action point: Map your entire customer journey, identifying friction points before peak trading begins.
6. Alternative brand positioning
Premium brands can implement ‘quality over quantity’ messaging, ‘support local’ campaigns, sustainability-focused ‘Green Friday’ messaging, or experience-based offerings instead of discounts.
“We’ve helped premium brands successfully navigate Black Friday without compromising positioning,” notes Shepard. “The key is developing alternative campaigns that maintain brand integrity whilst capitalising on increased consumer attention.”
Action point: If discounting conflicts with brand positioning, develop alternative campaigns that maintain integrity.
7. Post-Black Friday opportunities
“The biggest mistake brands make is treating Black Friday as a one-off transaction,” observes Shepard. Transform bargain hunters into brand advocates through welcome sequences, win-back campaigns for abandoned carts, onboarding sequences for first-time buyers, and loyalty programme integration.
Action point: Prepare relationship building campaigns in advance rather than treating the event as transactional.
8. Performance benchmarks
Black Friday 2024 generated R88 billion in additional economic value. Spending distribution: Electronics (40%), Travel & Tourism (30%), Fashion (14%), Beauty (125% higher activity than average Friday) (Source: PayU South Africa, Home of Direct Commerce).
Action point: Use these benchmarks to set realistic expectations and allocate resources across product categories.
9. Final week protocol
“From years of managing campaigns, we cannot emphasise enough that proper preparation is crucial,” says Shepard. Final week preparation includes testing automated sequences, confirming customer service scheduling, verifying discount codes, activating backup plans, configuring analytics dashboards, and preparing reporting templates.
Action point: Create detailed checklists and delegate specific responsibilities to prevent oversights during high-pressure periods.
10. Future-proofing strategy
Prepare for continued mobile commerce dominance (70%+ transactions), accelerated BNPL adoption, increased sustainability messaging importance, social commerce integration, and AI-powered personalisation expectations. The 30.4% online transaction surge represents the new reality (Source: Ecentric Payment Solutions).
The strategic imperative
“Black Friday 2025 extends far beyond discounting – it’s about creating exceptional customer experiences that convert bargain hunters into loyal advocates,” concludes Shepard. “Retailers who understand this will dominate not just November, but the entire festive season.”
Effective preparation ensures you’re executing a well-planned strategy that maximises both short-term sales and long-term relationships rather than scrambling at the last minute.
For comprehensive digital media strategy and paid advertising optimisation, connect with The Digital Media Collective – one of South Africa’s leading digital marketing agencies with proven expertise in driving e-commerce success during peak trading periods.
