This Black Friday is the closest one to pre-Covid levels with shoppers flocking the streets for Black Friday, from the early hours of the day, the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises said.

Shop owners said the eagerness and will to shop was evident but at the same time customers are also being more careful in their spending.

Attributing the lower spending to inflationary issues, consumers appear to have retained some of the spending trends we have seen during Covid, with appliances, household electronics and brown goods, having a very good November.

Similarly, more affordable brands in the fashion industry and costume jewellery exceeded expectations since they did very well. High end brands with a higher price tag did not do so well in comparison.

It is evident that different sectors have started adopting different strategies in how they time their offers. Some have extended their offers to cover most of November while others are sticking to the black Friday weekend.

Overall businesses are very pleased that despite the negative global feeling and inflationary pressures, they saw their clients eager once again on Black Friday, eager to shop and also to buy gifts. Black Friday has once again started establishing itself as a very important milestone for businesses, following 2 years of Covid downturn, the chamber said.