Black Friday is arguably the biggest shopping event of the year in most parts of the world. This year’s Black Friday is on November 23, 2018, and will feature discounted goods and products (in some cases, services) to people all over the world. It is reported that in the past, the buildup to and the excitement during the event has often led to fights especially over Television sets, near-riots have broken out and queues have stretched to even car parks of some of the biggest shopping malls and stores. The hype to this year’s Black Friday is beginning to garner momentum, physical stores and online stores alike have begun to throw in their ads and consumers are looking forward to this event.

What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving – a popular holiday in the United States of America. It used to be the start of the holiday shopping season where all retailers open their doors to door-busting discounts and sales in order to attract customers early enough to their stores. In the last couple of years, the trend is bringing these sales online. Locally, online retail stores have introduced the tradition and sometimes do start long before the scheduled date. Black Friday is no more a one-day event. In the previous years, sales have started way before the scheduled Friday, some starting even weeks before. Why is it called Black Friday? According to an article on Wikipedia, the reason is “Many retailers report some of their highest profits on Black Friday. The black portion of the name, “Black Friday” relates to businesses recording their losses in red ink and gains in black. This tradition lives on in modern accounting software, hence the name.”.

What happens on Black Friday?
Online stores and physical shops alike reduce prices, offering mind-blowing discounts on tons of products including electronics, phones and other home appliances. Buyers can also get black friday software deals as well as deals on homeware, clothes and sometimes even food. These days, other industries like travel & hospitality especially online travel agencies are jumping in on the Black Friday bandwagon – offering Black Friday discounts on hotels and flights. Consumers scramble for the best deals by spending a great amount of time online or queueing up outside of big shopping stores. There have been reports of sites crashing during Black Friday sales.

Top Black Friday Retailers to Watch out For
As we’ve established, Black Friday is a shopping tradition that originated in the United States and is now a global phenomenon. This year, it falls on November 23, 2018. However, we’d expect early kick-off – as early as November 2nd in some localities. Black Friday deals are usually available to both online stores and walk-in stores. What stores and deals can we look forward to? Let’s look at some of the top deals and stores we should look out for.

1. Jumia Ghana
Jumia, across Africa, will definitely participate in Black Friday. Over the years beginning in 2014, Jumia has participated in this yearly online shopping event. Jumia’s Black Friday has always been a win-win for Jumia and consumers alike. This year, in Ghana, Jumia will hold its Black Friday every Friday from November 16th to December 7th – that will be 4 Fridays of massive sales, discounts and deals on mobile phones, TVs, fridges, freezers, games, fashion, electronics and small home appliances. Considering Jumia’s history, we can expect treasure hunts, flash sales and app-only deals.

2. Amazon
For Amazon, Black Friday is obviously a big deal. For those of us who’d love to shop internationally, Amazon is usually a good fit. Black Friday for Amazon this year is scheduled for November 23. Expect a huge range of tech and gaming items including the retailer’s own-branded items like the Echo speaker and Fire tablet in the sales. Over the last few years, the brand has also featured Black Friday discounts on branded jewellery and fashion items too.

3. Zoobashop
Zoobashop, an e-commerce store launched in 2013 (five years ago) have also been known for its Black Friday participation. While they’re yet to announce their plans for Black Friday 2018, we can expect a huge discount weekend largely due to their Black Friday deals in the past. These deals will be expected to cover mobile phones, laptops, electronics and other home appliances.

Are you geared up for Black Friday 2018? Remember that it is on Friday, November 23 this year, however, we expect the deals to start coming in from as early as November 2. Don’t forget to make out a list of items you’d need to get for either yourself or for a loved one as it is a great time to buy your holiday gifts. Make a list of the stores and dates and make sure you save up for a happy shopping experience. Happy Black Friday in advance.