South African retailers saw strong sales during the week of Black Friday this year. Panel television unit sales experienced 47% growth and smartphone sales leaped 63% compared to the same week in 2016, according to point of sale tracking data from GfK South Africa. The value of panel televisions sold during the week was up 41% over the comparable week in 2016, while the value of smartphone sales climbed by 34%.

The growth in panel television sales built on massive success in 2016, when sales during the Black Friday week climbed 105% over 2015 and value rose by 111%. Smartphones enjoyed an even stronger Black Friday week in 2017 than in 2016, when unit sales went up 18% and value rose by 31%.

Traditional retailers claimed the lion’s share of Black Friday week sales, accounting for 98.3% of television units sold and 97.2% of the value of televisions sold during the week. Online retailers grew their Black Friday TV sales by 32% and their TV revenues by 36%, accounting for 1.7% of units sold and 2.8% of value. 

Online retail accounted for 2% of smartphone unit sales and 4% of value for the week, a growth of 72% and 47% respectively. Around 98% of smartphone sales and 96% of smartphone value went through offline retail.

“This was the strongest Black Friday to date for consumer electronic sales in South Africa and it confirms that this US-imported sales frenzy is now a massive day in the annual retail calendar. While online Black Friday sales remain small compared to those through physical retail, they are growing and ecommerce retailers enjoy larger transaction sizes than physical stores,” says Nikolay Dolgov, General Manager, Point of Sales Tracking at GfK South Africa.

“We have seen similar Black Friday trends unfold in South Africa to those observed in markets such as the UK—including the event stretching into a week-long festival of specials and promotions, and a move among retailers to offer specials on highly desired phones, computers and TVs during the week rather than simply trying to shift old stock.”