Black Friday28.11.2023

South African Black Friday shoppers spent R4.5 billion

BankservAfrica recorded 1.4 million transactions totalling R1.39 billion through its online 3D-secure service on Black Friday 2023.

Regarding in-store transactions, volumes declined in 2023 compared to 2022, with the total value of in-store swipes amounting to R3.1 billion — a decline of 21% year-on-year.

The company said online transaction volumes were 11% higher than in 2022, while the total value it recorded was 39% higher than last year.

Moreover, the economic conditions in South Africa this year are arguably much more challenging than they were during the same period in 2022.

However, Shergeran Naidoo, head of stakeholder engagements at BankservAfrica, noted that in-store sales were lower than in 2022.

“In-store shopping was slightly down from last year’s levels compared to online, which delivered again as merchants upped their Black Friday promotions and attracted interest from eager consumers,” said Naidoo.

BankservAfrica’s data also provides insight into the spending habits of Black Friday shoppers on the day.

It tracked 30,770 transactions within one hour after midnight, representing a 4% increase in early Black Friday transactions.

Following the initial surge, transactions began to die down before picking up later on in the morning.

BankservAfrica transaction volumes by time of day

“After slowing down, online sales picked up again and peaked between 10:00 and 11:00 with 93,814 transactions recorded,” said BankservAfrica.

However, the clearing house observed another interesting development. Between 08:00 and 09:00, BankservAfrica recorded almost 90,000 transactions, representing a 124% increase over the same period in 2022.

“The final hour of Black Friday reflected the strongest hourly year-on-year online growth of 37% with 34,157 transactions,” it added.

According to Naidoo, the volume of in-store swipes dropped from 6.3 million in 2022 to 5.9 million in 2023 — a decline of approximately 6%.

In-store transactions were the highest between 16:00 and 17:00 on Black Friday, with 496,399 transactions recorded through BankservAfrica’s systems.

Looking at individual shoppers, one cardholder processed 644 separate transactions, which is lower than the 827 times one shopper swiped their card in 2022.

In 2023, the highest single transaction value by card amounted to R113,000 at a luxury jewellery boutique.

“Overall, the financial constraints faced by consumers were clearly visible in this year’s Black Friday spending patterns. We should also be mindful that levels were higher in 2022, as this was the first year immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Naidoo.

It should be noted that BankservAfrica’s data provides insight into interbank transactions processed on behalf of banks in South Africa. It doesn’t include internal transactions at any particular bank.


Now read: Big shift in Black Friday spending in South Africa

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