{"id":266564,"date":"2025-11-24T15:28:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T16:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/?p=266564"},"modified":"2025-11-25T04:03:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T04:03:21","slug":"debt-experts-warn-black-friday-could-deepen-consumer-financial-strain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/builder\/debt-experts-warn-black-friday-could-deepen-consumer-financial-strain\/","title":{"rendered":"Debt experts warn Black Friday could deepen consumer financial strain"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post<\/a> was originally published on this site<\/a><\/p>

<\/p>\n

Debt experts are cautioning that this year\u2019s Black Friday shopping period could push already distressed South African consumers further into debt, as economic pressures continue to weigh heavily on households.<\/p>\n

Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, on Monday said the firm is \u201cundeniably concerned\u201d about the risk of consumers overextending themselves during the annual retail event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Black Friday used to be associated with excitement, luxury purchases, and once-off bargains, our latest survey shows a very different reality emerging for South Africans,” Roets said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This event has shifted from a feel-good shopping moment into a period that can easily trigger financial pressure and unnecessary debt for already strained households.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the survey, half of respondents believe Black Friday encourages people to take on debt they cannot afford, while one in four say the intense advertising and promotional hype creates stress and pressure to spend.<\/p>\n

Roets said that what is particularly worrying is that people are no longer shopping for luxuries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNearly two-thirds (64.3%) are relying on Black Friday for discounts on essentials like groceries and food, which is a clear sign that households are under immense financial strain,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

“When people are depending on a retail event for basic survival, the likelihood of turning to credit becomes far greater, especially as we move into the festive period.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Roets noted that while 60.9% of consumers plan to use cash or debit cards, the trend is driven not by financial comfort but by fear of worsening their debt load.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHowever even this behaviour is driven by fear\u2014fear of accumulating more debt in a country where many already spend up to 80% of their income servicing existing credit. <\/span>This<\/b> is absolutely a period in which consumers can and often do fall into more debt,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Black Friday has become a pressure point, and our concern is rooted in the financial reality facing millions of households. Our message remains consistent: approach this season cautiously, prioritise essentials, and seek help if debt has already become unmanageable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters, echoed the concerns, noting that Black Friday promotions have expanded far beyond a single day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we tell consumers is that if you need to borrow to pay for something during Black Friday or Black November sales, then you should really have second thoughts about whether the item is essential for you,” Sager said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s very easy for us to get tempted by things that are not necessarily essential but are \u201cwants\u201d, so it\u2019s important for consumers to make that judgement call.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sager added that overspending at this time of year can create severe financial problems due to the extended gap between December and January paydays.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost get paid around the middle of December and their next pay-check will be all the way at the end of January. During that period, a lot of things happen \u2013 for example, in addition to festive season expenditure, your fixed payments, such as rent and insurance will go out at the beginning of the year; and then things like stationery or school items for your kids also become expenses in early January,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“So it\u2019s important to think of November, December and January as three months that run together, and then make sure that you\u2019re planning your finances accordingly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BUSINESS REPORT<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debt experts are cautioning that this year\u2019s Black Friday shopping period could push already distressed South African consumers further into debt, as economic pressures continue to weigh heavily on households.Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, on Monday said the firm is \u201cundeniably concerned\u201d about the risk of consumers overextending themselves during the annual retail event. \u201cWhile Black Friday used to be associated with excitement, luxury purchases, and once-off bargains, our latest survey shows a very different reality emerging for South Africans,” Roets said.”This event has shifted from a feel-good shopping moment into a period that can easily trigger financial pressure and unnecessary debt for already strained households.\u201dAccording to the survey, half of respondents believe Black Friday encourages people to take on debt they cannot afford, while one in four say the intense advertising and promotional hype creates stress and pressure to spend.Roets said that what is particularly worrying is that people are no longer shopping for luxuries. \u201cNearly two-thirds (64.3%) are relying on Black Friday for discounts on essentials like groceries and food, which is a clear sign that households are under immense financial strain,” he said. “When people are depending on a retail event for basic survival, the likelihood of turning to credit becomes far greater, especially as we move into the festive period.\u201dRoets\u00a0noted that while 60.9% of consumers plan to use cash or debit cards, the trend is driven not by financial comfort but by fear of worsening their debt load. \u201cHowever even this behaviour is driven by fear\u2014fear of accumulating more debt in a country where many already spend up to 80% of their income servicing existing credit. This is absolutely a period in which consumers can and often do fall into more debt,” he said. “Black Friday has become a pressure point, and our concern is rooted in the financial reality facing millions of households. Our message remains consistent: approach this season cautiously, prioritise essentials, and seek help if debt has already become unmanageable.\u201dBenay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters, echoed the concerns, noting that Black Friday promotions have expanded far beyond a single day. \u201cWhat we tell consumers is that if you need to borrow to pay for something during Black Friday or Black November sales, then you should really have second thoughts about whether the item is essential for you,” Sager said.”It\u2019s very easy for us to get tempted by things that are not necessarily essential but are \u201cwants\u201d, so it\u2019s important for consumers to make that judgement call.\u201dSager added that overspending at this time of year can create severe financial problems due to the extended gap between December and January paydays.\u201cMost get paid around the middle of December and their next pay-check will be all the way at the end of January. During that period, a lot of things happen \u2013 for example, in addition to festive season expenditure, your fixed payments, such as rent and insurance will go out at the beginning of the year; and then things like stationery or school items for your kids also become expenses in early January,” he said.”So it\u2019s important to think of November, December and January as three months that run together, and then make sure that you\u2019re planning your finances accordingly.\u201dBUSINESS REPORT<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-builder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":266565,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266564\/revisions\/266565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}