It’s that time of year again — the calendar flips, the ads pop up, and suddenly your phone is buzzing with “unmissable deals” everywhere you look.
Black Friday is supposed to be a frenzy, a mad dash for discounts — but if you are honest, your reality probably looks a little different.
Maybe you are comparing grocery prices with your cousins in a WhatsApp group, splitting delivery costs with friends, or just quietly planning how to stretch your budget without losing sleep.
But, somewhere between the flashing banners and urgency-filled headlines, the industry seems to have forgotten something important: we are real people, not click-through stats.
And this year, Penquin’s Strategy Director, Thando Mxosa, is calling it out. He believes the biggest missed opportunity in Black Friday isn’t a sale — it’s understanding how we, as consumers, actually behave when the noise gets loud.
When fear drives the hype
At Penquin, where understanding people comes before flashy campaigns, Thando and his team notice the same pattern showing up in the industry year after year. For them, this isn’t just about creativity — it’s a deeper, strategic problem.
“Every year we see the same thing. Brands adopt the same colour palette, the same headlines, the same urgency cues, and we justify it by calling it competition. But it’s not competition. It’s fear. Fear of missing out. Fear of flat numbers. Fear of silence. Black Friday is no longer a retail moment; it’s an industry reflex where brands forget who they are,” said Thando.
The real Black Friday behaviour marketers ignore
As marketers compete to shout the loudest, most South Africans are taking a much calmer, smarter approach.
“Real people aren’t panic-buying TV sets. They are collaborating. Families and friends are in WhatsApp groups comparing prices, checking grocery deals, splitting deliveries. Black Friday here isn’t indulgence, it’s ingenuity,” said Thando.
Penquin’s research shows that for most people, Black Friday isn’t a chaotic rush — it’s more like a group strategy session. Families and friends plan together, hunt for the best deals, and measure value by how smartly they save, not by how fast they buy.
“This is one of the most overlooked behaviours in local retail strategy. Marketers talk about creating for culture, but we ignore the rituals right in front of us. South Africans use Black Friday to stretch their budgets. That’s value in its most human form,” said Thando.
The industry’s blind spot
According to Thando, Black Friday isn’t the problem; it’s the way brands go about it that misses the mark.
“We keep chasing spikes instead of sense. We optimise for traffic, not trust. We build mechanics that feel like puzzles instead of empowerment — and every year we call it innovation,” said Thando.
He feels that brands have become blind to how repetitive and predictable their campaigns have become.
“When all the ads look the same, we convince ourselves that’s what competition looks like. However, sameness is not strategy,” said Thando.
If brands truly cared about culture, they would show up differently
Marketers love to say their work is ‘culturally driven,’ but Thando questions if that’s really true when Black Friday rolls around. For him, the real issue isn’t Black Friday, but how brands seem blind to the people behind the shopping carts.
“If we respected the consumer context, our messaging would feel human. We would design mechanics that empower people instead of making them jump through hoops. We would build for households, not algorithms,” said Thando.
The Harder Question: Who are we when it gets loud?
For Thando, the day is a chance to look in the mirror, not just blast out promotions.
“The real opportunity is reflection. What if Black Friday became the moment brands ask themselves: Do we still sound like ourselves when the pressure is on? If the only way to compete is to shout louder, what does that say about the strength of the brand the rest of the year?
For him, both the challenge and the opportunity come down to knowing when to hold back.
“Silence can sell too, recognition can beat reach and meaning is the one thing you can’t discount,” said Thando.
A thought for next year
As another Black Friday approaches, Thando asks the industry to pause and consider one thing:
“If your brand went quiet next Black Friday, would anyone notice? If the answer is no, what does that tell you?,” that’s a question Thando leaves with marketers.
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