Cape Town - With South Africa’s biggest sale day - “Black Friday” - set to hit the country next week, some local shoppers say money’s too tight to mention this year and they may need to give the “sales” and “specials” a skip.
Some said they felt it wasn't much more than a “marketing gimmick” and could lead to buying things they don't need.
“Shops always have sales, this is nothing new, it just has a name but it is the same thing. I see it as a marketing gimmick,” said Phila Qusheka. In spite of this, the 22-year-old nevertheless enjoyed the shopping last year.
For Letta Ntombana, 28, her pockets were just too empty to get excited about another sale.
“I am not excited about it because I do not have money and sales are something that happen every day,” she said.
“It is just a money-making thing, I think they have old stock they are trying to get rid of, so they just put all those things out for us to buy.”
Lillian Paulse said she was not impressed with the specials last year and was not expecting much this year.
“Only some shops had great specials, others never came down with their prices that much,” she added.
“I probably will go into the shops, but I just plan on browsing.”
Seventy-one-year-old Gertrude Williams said she was past getting excited about sales.
“Perhaps when I was younger, yes, now I just feel I have everything I need. So unless there’s something I need in the shops on that specific day, I am not going to go out of my way for the sale,” Williams said.
Last year, research released by Facebook suggested that Black Friday was the country’s busiest online shopping day of the year.
However, while many people were clearly excited to grab some bargains last year, there was disappointment as the cheapest goods flew off the shelves, with many missing out.
This year, Black Friday takes place on November 24.