Guest 1 on the line: Magauta Mphahlele, Ombudsman, Consumer Goods and Services Ombud
With the Festive Season fast approaching, South Africa has been slowly aligning itself with the rest of the world in heralding the start of the Festive Season shopping spree with its Black Friday shopping event.
While the origins of Black Friday in South Africa can be traced back as far as 2012 and 2014, it has really gained momentum since 2018. Since then, its grown significantly with an estimated R5 billion spent in 2021.
“While Black Friday has now become the common way to mark the beginning of the commercial side of the Festive Season, it is important that South Africans remember that fraudsters are very active at this time of the year. While there are plenty of special offers in the market, there are a lot of fraudsters who will want to take advantage of our desire to find the perfect deal,” says Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS).
He added that particular attention needs to be given to online payments as these can become low hanging fruits for fraudsters. PayFast reported in the media last year that online transactions over Black Friday increased by 34% and that the average basket price was R1 208/transaction. This looks likely to increase this year as many consumers will want to avoid the in-store rush on Black Friday.