Local retailers could make a killing today after embracing the Black Friday shopping fiesta, cutting down prices by as much as 50 percent, a snap survey by 263Chat Business has revealed.
As early as 6am, queues were already winding at most stores who had advertised price adjustments for today with many shops open by 7.30 am.
The development comes at a time ordinary Zimbabweans are failing to cope with the obtaining harsh economic situation in the country which have affected consumer spending a great deal.
But some stores, particularly in clothing business had already run out of merchandise in just an hour of opening as customers cleared all selected wares on promotion.
Some business operators who spoke to this publication said they were going to drip-feed their stocks onto the shelves to avoid a onetime clearance by consumers.
Black Friday has become a global shopping phenomenon where businesses offer the lowest prices for the year and has become a harbinger of the festive season.
Yet Black Friday was first associated with financial crisis and not sales shopping.
Two Wall Street financiers, Jim Fisk and Jay Gould took a risk and bought huge stocks of gold anticipating higher returns once prices surged.
On Friday the 24th of September 1869 the US gold market crashed and the two left Wall Street barons bankrupt, a day that became known as Black Friday.
However, in the late 1950, Police officers in Philadelphia, United States first linked Black Friday to the day after Thanksgiving (4TH Thursday of November) as large crowds of shoppers came to the city and created chaos and traffic jams leading to shoplifting.
Since then, the event has gained relevance with business operators who take the opportunity to offer generous deals in order to stimulate sales.
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