Cape Town - Security officials had their hands full on Friday morning as scores of shoppers broke glass, damaged security monitors and fought each other for the best Black Friday deals.
At Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Century City, Cape town, additional private security officials were deployed after shoppers forced their way into a Game store, damaging the store's entrance and security monitors.
Meanwhile, at Eastgate Shopping Centre in Johannesburg, a scuffle broke out between a frustrated shopper and private security officials.
The situation was quickly resolved and the shopper was escorted out of the centre.
A scuffle breaks out outside The Checkers in the Eastgate Shopping Centre. #BlackFriday @TeamNews24 Plenty of security guards on duty. pic.twitter.com/R6ihJUkCte
At Access Park in Kenilworth, shoppers gathered outside the Nike store from midnight for a 40% discount on sneakers.
At the front of the line was Ammaar Salie, who said: "I haven't brushed my teeth yet [and] I haven't eaten nothing - all for Nike.
"I brought a lot of money," Salie added, jokingly pointing to his pockets.
Mother of two, Yanga Cokile, said she had been waiting in the line since 06:00 to buy Christmas presents for her children.
"Don't go there about the money. Money is my secret," Cokile said as he laughed.
At Kenilworth Centre, Aalia Ganie said she managed to buy all the linen she needed for her new apartment for less than R500.
"Definitely worth it," Ganie said as she packed her car before heading back to work.
Jill Maclear, an employee at H&M Canal Walk, said she used her tea break to wait in line at the Superga store.
"Black Friday is definitely worth the hype. The people, they get here before 07:00. I mean, who wakes up at that time just to come to a mall and shop?" Maclear wondered.
Eastgate Shopping Centre marketing Manager Alana Hoskin told News24 that they were expecting growth in turnover between 10% and 15% for November, compared to 2016.
Hoskin said the centre was hoping for over 200 000 people to visit the centre throughout the day.
"The mall was buzzing from half past six this morning. People were starting to queue from 04:00 at Checkers," Hoskin said.
