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Despite massive technical glitches, Takealot nets R87m for #BlackFriday

Johannesburg - Despite massive downtime, e-commerce website takealot.com netted R87m from a record 2.2 million visits to its site on #BlackFriday2017.

Although the site and app operated at 100% capacity from late on Friday, Takealot said in a statement that it had proven to be one of the most challenging days in the company’s six-year history.

READ: #BlackFriday2017 - Your ultimate online shopping guide

Takealot’s annual Blue Dot Sale went live at 00:01 on Friday morning and updated results showed a 280% year-on-year increase in visits, generating more than R6m in GMV (Gross Merchandising Value) in the first hour, growing to R12m by 02:00 and over R87m by the end of the day. 

“We are fully aware that the day was far from ideal for our customers and are incredibly humbled that people continued to support us throughout the day. We know we have disappointed some customers and we are very sorry to have done so,” Takealot CEO, Kim Reid.  

As the Blue Dot Sale continued through Saturday and Sunday, Takealot doubled its GMV from last year, driven by a 70% increase in site traffic and order numbers.

Takealot experienced a record-breaking day with over 52 000 orders placed.

The Takealot Blue Dot Sale extended through Cyber Monday and Takealot Tuesday with new deals being added daily. 

READ: Takealot cashes in big time despite #BlackFriday downtime

Samsung TVs were Friday’s initial bestseller, with 195 units ordered in the first hour, led by the Samsung 55" UHD LED TV, marked down from R16 999 to R8 999.

Other popular products sold over the weekend included cellphones such as the Huawei P10 Lite and the new Apple iPhone X, games consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One S, cameras and wearable tech like FUJiFILM Instax and TomTom & Garmin fitness trackers, as well as DStv decoders.

“Black Friday was one heck of a day. We started off with a site in cardiac arrest and ended the day being told we were owned by the Guptas, which of course is absolute nonsense,” Reid said.

The e-retailer on Friday lashed out at comments allegedly made by ANC MP Vytjie Mentor that the controversial Gupta family has a stake in the business, calling it "fake news". 

The company, partly owned by Fin24’s parent company, Naspers, dismissed the claim in a tweet, saying that the Guptas did not own a stake in the business.

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