Black Friday has been driving Kenyans Crazy in the rush to scoop as much items as they can this holiday season that has platforms like Jumia and Masoko entice client with low prices.
Apparently its not in Kenya alone that online shopping is being enjoyed.Shoppers across the United States snapped up deep discounts on toys, clothing and electronics both online and at stores on Black Friday, giving retailers a strong start to their make-or-break holiday season.
A healthy economy and rising wages gave people the confidence to splash out on retailers’ annual raft of bargains.
“The prices today are very good,” said Jose Manuel Cruz Hernandez, 59, who hit the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California, with his sister Paulina Cruz, 66, who comes every year from Mexico City to shop.
The pair spent $120 on princess dolls and other toys at the Walt Disney Co store, where items were 20 percent off. They spent a similar amount at Gap Inc, where items were discounted by about 55 percent.
Cruz Hernandez, a foreman at an aerospace firm, said he was comfortable with the U.S. economy and his own finances and plans to spend another $1,000 on holiday gifts – about the same as last year.
A similar story played out online, where shoppers spent $643 million by 10 a.m. ET, up 28 percent from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions at most of the top U.S. online retailers. Smartphone sales in particular contributed to gains.
Foot traffic looked healthy at stores offering discounts, although detailed numbers on brick-and-mortar holiday sales will not be available for several days.
“Overall, Black Friday doesn’t have the sense of urgency as in the past and feels more like a busy regular weekend day in many of the stores,” said Dana Telsey at Telsey Advisory Group.
“Many of the promotions were available for the past couple of weeks,” Telsey said. “We haven’t noticed desperation from any retailer.”
Shares of Macy’s Inc, Kohl’s Corp, and Target Corp all closed down on Friday and weighed on the broader S&P 500 retailing index, which closed down 0.56 percent.
Early numbers showed overall retail sales, both in stores and online, were in line with expectations, according to Mastercard Inc’s SpendingPulse retail report. The firm expects overall Black Friday sales to top $23 billion this year, up from $21 billion last year.
Mastercard combines sales activity in its payments network with estimates of cash and other payment forms. It said cold weather in the eastern United States and wet weather in the west may be pushing more consumers online.
Have you enjoyed shopping online for anything in Kenya black Fridays?