The earliest mention of the phrase ‘Black Friday’ was used to describe the day after Thanksgiving in the United States in 1952, which is usually the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November — a day considered to be the beginning of the country’s Christmas shopping season. Black Friday was coined to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian
Adoption of Black Friday in Nigeria
Prior to the debut of eCommerce platforms in Nigeria, Black Friday was relatively unknown. Jumia introduced Black Friday to Nigerians as a shopping festival in November 2013. Shortly after that, other eCommerce players created their own simulation such as the Yakata Sales, but unfortunately this didn’t command as much buzz as the Black Friday shopping festival. Similar to what it stands for in developed countries, especially its country of origin — the US, Black Friday has been known in Nigeria to be a day that online retailers — and until recently, offline stores — dedicate to offering jaw dropping discounts across all product categories in an attempt at attracting traffic to their platforms. It is interesting to note that media reports have shown that Black Friday seems to be the most productive & profit driven period for most eCommerce platforms and their vendors. It provides them opportunity to level up their sales target considering there’s usually an enormous influx of shoppers during this period. Little wonder, most of the vendors selling on eCommerce platforms, Jumia for instance, always offer their products for sale at extremely low prices, in addition to offering free delivery and shipping for items above N10,000 in major cities such as, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and many more.
Realizing that a day might not be sufficient to shop, and considering the fact that, unlike the US, Black Friday is not yet a public holiday in Nigeria, some eCommerce platforms have extended the shopping festival to cover a period of one month, usually starting mid November through mid December. Thus, providing shoppers an extended period to shop for the Christmas season. A case in point: last year Jumia held its simulation of the Black Friday between November 24th & December 24th, giving Nigerians ample time to shop for their favourite products at the best prices. Other online retailers followed suit, but unfortunately couldn’t hold the fort beyond a period of one or two weeks. This might be understandable because only a few of these eCommerce platforms command enough patronage from the Nigerian shoppers, largely due to trust issues, substandard products, and inefficient delivery system. Safer for them to run the Black Friday campaign within a window period that allows them to quickly cash in and count their losses. Sadly, this doesn’t benefit the shoppers in the long run, as many of them will rather take their time to shop during this period without fear of the amazing discounts closing out within just a week. Besides, shopping, to many, is therapeutic; it’s never done in a hurry.
Another advantage of the extended Black Friday campaigns which Jumia is championing year-on-year, is the opportunity it affords shoppers to compare prices with other online retailers before making a purchase decision. Customers wouldn’t have this luxury if the campaign only runs for a day, or at most a week. E-retailers therefore need to learn to always put the interest of the customer first before anything else. Jumia shows good leadership in this regard.
Life Changing Moment for Nigerian Entrepreneurs
Best Time for Thrift Shopping
Shoppers remain the biggest beneficiaries of Black Friday. Those looking to save money while shopping heavy will take advantage of the special deals and discount vouchers that will be available for shoppers during this period. What is that product you’ve been saving up for months or weeks to buy? Is it an electronic gadget? iPhone XS, XS Max or iPhone XR? Kitchen gadget? Groceries? This is the best time to fill your shopping carts with all the products you’ve always wanted, but couldn’t afford at once. You buy more and spend less.
Typically, when navigating an eCommerce website don’t buy the first product that seems affordable to you. Compare the product price and quality with other sellers on the same platform. Look out for the sellers ratings and comments of previous buyers of similar products. Spend some time browsing through the website to find excellent deals. The goal is to spend less to get more.
Black Friday in Remote Areas With No Internet Access
Interestingly, urban dwellers are not the only beneficiaries of the eCommerce explosion. Most rural dwellers and those in the remotest areas — with or without the internet — also participate actively in shopping online, especially during Black Friday period when most items are sold at almost half the price, sometimes at 70 — 80% off. My grandmother bought a mobile phone during last year’s Black Friday at 40% off. She had no access to the internet, nor did she know how to use a computer device to surf the internet, even if she had access. I had sent her money to buy a phone from one of the dealers in her neighborhood. To my utmost dismay, she said she’ll rather buy it online and save some money. “How will you do that?” I asked. “Dele, the teacher, told me he will buy it from his company online because they sell it cheaper,” she quipped. Dele was one of the secondary school teachers in the village. He and grandmother had an excellent rapport. Out of curiosity, I called Dele to inquire about the claim, and most importantly to be sure he wasn’t playing a fast one on the aged woman. “How could he think of duping mama after all these years of constant moral and financial support she had provided for him?,” I thought to myself in sheer disbelief.
The anticlimax happened when I put a call through to Dele, only to be told that aside his teaching job, he has also been trained by an eCommerce platform on how to sell products listed on their platform to rural dwellers who either have no access to the internet, or who simply can’t operate a computer device. He explained to me that with the help of his tablet, he can show the customer pictures of the item on the website, and also explain the functions and prices. In fact, he would go as far telling the customer the rating of each seller and comments of previous buyers, to guide the customer through the buying process. He would do this, most times, in the customer’s native language. So, in addition to his teaching career, he’s also an entrepreneur who receives periodic training on how to sell and make profit. Aside Dele, there are thousands of trained entrepreneurs scattered across the country — although most of them have other business interests they pursue — who have benefited from the Jumia J-Force programme. The programme provides them the opportunity to make extra income in addition to their full time job. For those who live in the rural areas, they avail dwellers in these places the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of online shopping, at the most affordable prices. They actively engage the dwellers in all the special campaigns that promise huge discounts and mouth watering deals.
Black Friday will be upon us in the next couple of weeks. Everybody is excited: the entrepreneurs, the customers, the eCommerce platforms, and the Nigerian economy. I, for once, am excited and look forward to it with beaming eagerness.
OLUKAYODE KOLAWOLE is Head, PR & Communications – Jumia Group Nigeria