DAR ES SALAAM, Dec 3 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — DAR ES SALAAM shop owners are counting their profits post Black Friday, with a massive surge in sales and business activity leaving a significant impact on entrepreneurs.
The record-high transactions and increased consumer demand have brought both excitement and new opportunities, signalling a promising future for local commerce.
This trend has now opened extra opportunities for traders, who are now counting on both Black Friday and Christmas to maximise their sales.
The ‘Daily News’ spot survey last Friday observed some stores at Mlimani City Mall opened as early as 08:00am compared to between 09:30am and 10:00am on the normal days.
On top of that traders slashed prices by between 20 and 50 per cent to woo shoppers to shop extra.
A trader Julius Stephen at Dar Free Markets said the Black Friday has become a major event, which enabled him to attract new customers.
Stephen, a small furniture shop owner, shared that during the week that he successfully closed several deals to push up his income to nearly 8.3m/-.
“This figure has far exceeded my typical monthly earnings,” he said adding that he sold over 22 items in a single day, “a record high”.
Black Friday is the biggest shopping day that comes after Thanksgiving and on the last Friday of November. Apart from offering shoppers big discounts it symbolises the opening of the year-end festive—Christmas.
Dr Edith Lyimo, a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, shared that retailers, particularly online stores, began pushing sales well before Black Friday.
“This has become my annual tradition. I’ve shopped every Black Friday for the last six years and always enjoyed huge discounts,” Dr Lyimo said.
She advised shoppers to start saving early and plan their purchases ahead of Christmas, especially during Black Friday, to take advantage of the massive discounts.
Micky Decha of Defacto Store reported a significant surge in shoppers on Black Friday, the highest since the store opened in September.
“The number of shoppers actually doubled on Black Friday,” said Decha, who also works for LC Waikiki.
He added that towels and bathrobes were discounted by 70 per cent, while both adult and children’s clothing saw a 20 per cent discount.
Wanlong Manager, Consolata Shayo, said that the 25 per cent discount was highly effective in attracting many shoppers to their store.
“There was a noticeable difference this Black Friday compared to last year.
“Shoppers were queuing to pay, which shows that people are beginning to understand the significance of Black Friday,” she said with a million-shilling smile.
According to her, most shoppers purchased decorations and home appliances.
Eugenia Valerian, a Dar es Salaam resident, who also buy online, said that she had spent all her savings on Black Friday to buy for her ‘secreto’ (secret friend).
“Each year I set goals for what I need to buy on Black Friday and almost always shop online. This year, I bought a smartwatch from KiKUU at a discount of 50 per cent,” said Valerian.
The delivery services saw a surge in demand as bodaboda—tricycle taxis—had to work overtime to keep up with the pace of orders.
“We’ve never seen so many deliveries in such a short time,” said Justine Peter, a bodaboda taxi rider. “It’s been busy, but also exciting”.
Godlisten Laizer, the owner of an electronics shop at Mlimani City in Dar es Salaam, said his sales went up by 65 per cent this Black Friday in comparison with other normal days.
Lucy Prosper, the owner of Zawadipoint, said this Black Friday was a busy day for them since they worked up late after offering a discount of 25 per cent.
“We were so busy delivering not only Black Friday gifts but also end-of-year gifts and other goods to upcountry as well,” she said. Zawadipoint specialised in the art of creating high-quality gift packages and handling their logistics.
Some analysts have it that Black Friday is a period to celebrate consumers where retailers and brands come together to do something special for consumers. — NNN-DAILYNEWS
