No country embraces Black Friday more than South Africa, if international discounts website picodi.com's statistics are anything to go by.

"Website sessions jumped 936% last November," Picodi said. "This activity may reflect the nation's burgeoning international e-commerce interest, with as much as 43% of the adult population buying products from abroad online."

The site, which harnesses discount deals from retailers around the globe, analysed its international e-commerce data over the past three years for November and Black Friday, specifically.

"Our figures offer an extraordinary glimpse into the flurry of activity that takes place on Black Friday globally," Picodi said.

"Compared to the average number of transactions occurring on all other days of the year, South Africans made 16.2% more purchases on our site, more than twice as large a percentage increase as that of any other country."

The top Black Friday brands in South Africa were Edgars, Woolworths and Pick n Pay.

Interestingly, Black Friday surges were limited in some of the world's wealthiest nations, such as Germany and the UK.

"While the effects of the shopping holiday were significant in these countries, some reports indicate that Black Friday enthusiasm may have cooled in Western Europe," Picodi said.

But plenty of deal-hunting happens elsewhere on the continent, such as Finland's 700% spike.

Average savings amounted to more than 77% of what the average user paid on Black Friday, according to Picodi's data.

Clothing proved more popular than electronic goods, possibly because some international clothing brands have limited physical stores.

Gap, for example, has just 12 franchise stores in Africa.

Source: The Times

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