Friday the 27th of November was a day like no other in Nigeria as the frenzy of Black Friday caught up with shoppers all over the country. Online retail malls are expected to have recorded a massive surge in visits and page-views as millions of Nigerians logged onto their websites in search for bargain deals.
Black Friday originated from the US and is the Friday after Thanksgiving (4th Friday of the month). Black Friday is officially the beginning of Xmas shopping and Retailers use it as an opportunity to offer huge price discounts to customers. With the world more and more turning into a global village, Black Friday has moved from being a US only event to one that occurs in most cities around America and Europe.
The economic impact of black Friday sales cannot be over emphasized as it is arguably the single largest one day retail sales at any time in the year. Black Friday sales in the United States last year topped $50.9 billion 11% lower than the $57.4 billion posted in 2013. The UK projects that it could record as much as £2billion pounds in sale for 2015. Nigeria can’t be any different with billions of naira is sales expected to be recorded. Online retail malls across the web as well as brick and mortar stores located within major malls in the country have all spent millions on advertising in anticipation of bargain hunting Lagosians. This is potential huge for Nigeria and one projects the country could be in line to record over N5billion in sales.
Online Retailers
Online retailers have blocked the entire airwaves and online space advertising black Friday in Nigeria. The impact of their advertising has surely paid off as shoppers who are accustomed to spending in December at an even more expensive price see this as a huge bargaining opportunity. Shoppers are expected to spend billions of naira buying the array of goods lined up for sale. For online malls, this is a major step towards exerting their dominance in the Nigerian retail market. Days like this are not only expected to draw Nigerians towards their platforms today alone it is also hoped that it will convert more Nigerians into dumping brick and mortar sales for online sales.
Banks and other Financial Institutions (OFI)
The preferred method of payments for online transactions are via debit cards. They are used for payment before delivery transactions and also attract fees in favour of the bank of OFI. Banks who recorded frequent down times on Black Friday would have lost tens of millions in potential one day revenue.
Advertising Agencies
Agencies and channels involved with putting Black Friday ad deals together have also benefited immensely. Commissions and fees have been earned by the lucky ones and most will earn in one day what they probably could have earned in a week.
Radio, TV and Electronic Media
Radio stations who got a huge slice of ad revenue were also significant beneficiaries from Black Friday deals. In the days running to Friday the 27th, newspapers, radio airwaves and TV stations bombarded readers, listeners and viewers respectively with ads 24/7. No matter where you turn to there were ads waiting to be served to you reminding you of Black Friday. The lucky medial outlets who earned paid adverts should be smiling to the bank. As one would expect not all media outlets enjoyed some of the massive advertising revenue that was shared.
Shoppers
Bargain hunting shoppers from all over the country who were lucky to purchase items at a discount were also winners. Cellphones, TV Sets, Laptops & Computers all had discount prices attached at rates that were enough to attract willing shoppers. Some shoppers however complained of not been able to consummate purchases. They claim websites were down for much of the time leading to frequent termination of transactions at the final stages.
Government
The Government is also on the list of those who benefited from Black Friday. Online deals typically attract Value Added Tax of 5% on every item being sold. The Government collects this money when the goods are paid. Considering that most online deals are payment on delivery or payment in advance of delivery, the Government doesn’t need to wait too long to get its tax revenue. Lagos State Government with their Consumption tax should also benefit even more especially for deals such as room nights, restaurants etc. Lagos State Signage Agency is also expected to see their fee income from November positively impacted from outdoor advertising revenue for Black Friday.
States without Consumption Tax or any form of taxes that ensures some of the revenue that would have accrued from Black Friday are sure to lose.
Merchants
Most Online Retail Malls like Jumia and Konga do not necessarily stock goods on their own. Most of what was sold belong to third-party merchants who rely on the Retail Giants large web presence to sell their products. In exchange for using the Online Retail Mall’s website to display and advertise their products, they pay a percentage of their revenue to the retail giants. While some merchants claimed to have cleared their stock, there were some who weren’t so lucky and are set to record huge cases of returned goods.