Not much has changed about Black Fridays in Nigeria. Just like it has been over the years, the 2019 edition of the annual event for shoppers presents another golden opportunities for them to make purchases of their choice at a ridiculous discount rate.
While some shoppers on Friday, November 29, made their way into different shopping malls across the country, others chose to explore several e-Commerce websites at the comfort of their zones.
When Nairametrics visited two major malls, which are strategically positioned at the extreme of Lagos, Ikeja City Mall and The Palms in Lekki, our Analyst witnessed shoppers conveying their fully-loaded carts in and out of the shopping malls.
Shoppers were seen buying more of Indomie noodles, Power Oil and soft drinks as the Shoprite store was crowded.
Sumayah Okunnu, a shopper seen at Shoprite, The Palms Lekki branch,confirmed this, saying the most patronized items were Indomie noodles and soft drinks like Pepsi and Mirinda which were selling out fast.
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Aother shopper, who pleaded anonymous sung praises of how Indomie noodles had a good deal in price slash.
According to her, the 60pack per carton was sold for N2500 which was a reduction from the normal N3,200 it is usually sold for.
“If our market would drop to this that we will be buying lesser price, we will really appreciate it.” She said.
Our correspondents found that the 400 gram tin of Peak Milk, which was slashed from N1,400 to N1,000, was the toast of the day. Also, the price of Power Oil pack was slashed from N2,200 to N1,000 at Shoprite.
Challenges experienced: Although there were comments on how the deals of the products were fair compared to the regular prices, there were also complaints from individuals who thought the prices should have been lower.
For Abiola Adebayo, there was nothing spectacular about the offers.
Adebayo said,“There is no big deal in the difference between what they are giving us now and what is in the market. It is not like last year where we had better offers and prices between when you’re buying on Black Friday and when you’re buying normally.”
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Another lady who doesn’t want her name mentioned, made known that there were many products that were not on promo and so they were being sold at the same price. This, she said, affected retailers that had planned to purchase the items at lesser prices.
The staff of Shoprite were also being accused of keeping products to sell only to those buying in large quantities. A shopper recounted her experience, emphasizing that the Malta Guinness cartons she wanted to buy were not given to her at the Ikeja branch but instead were sold to those with bigger purchases.
More so, Victoria Okorochi who recounted her experience, said that the hassle was too much as she had to struggle just to get a pack of Indomie noodles. According to her, retailers came en masse to buy lots of products, thereby making it hard for individuals to buy for their home use.
“When the retailers are consuming more of what individuals should be taking, each family should have at least one or two packs of the product but then retailers are consuming it more making it difficult for us to get the one we will be able to use and go home.
“It is not giving us encouragement, I had to queue at the store just to get one pack of Indomie. Retailers are buying in bulk to sell at more profitable rates and that is the challenge we face in enjoying the Black Friday sales.” Okorochi added.
I have bought all I needed to buy before Black Friday finally arrived. It’s a beat painful. Not my fault though, I’m not used to it