This year marked the return of the Black Friday bumper spend as midnight and intra-day deals exceeded the 2021 figures. Online sales emerged as the clear winner, tracking significantly higher growth.
Recording transactions processed on behalf of South Africa’s banks, BankservAfrica logged a total of 1,2-million transactions worth over R1-billion on 3D-Secure, BankservAfrica’s online card authentication service.
“This is a sizeable growth of 42% more transactions than the 737 985 total in 2021,” says Martin Grunewald, chief business officer at BankservAfrica.
It would appear that the staying power of online shopping, which gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic and under stricter lockdown shopping conditions, has only strengthened. This year’s bargain hunters began their search for the best online deals earlier.
“In the hours between 01:00 and 05:00, BankservAfrica recorded more than double the number of transactions compared to the same period in 2021, when shopping picked up from 06:00,” says Grunewald. “Shortly after lunchtime, BankservAfrica’s 3D Secure transaction volume was almost the same amount as the full-day transactions processed in 2021.
“The total volume of card POS sales amounted to 6,3-million, representing a 21% growth from the 5,2-million in 2021,” he adds.
The total value of transactions amounted to R3,9-billion showing a 16% growth from 2021 (R3,3-billion).
Shoppers queued earlier this year to get the best specials at the midnight store openings.
According to BankservAfrica’s overall card point-of-sale (PoS) transactional data, by 01:00, the hourly recorded transactions were 268% higher than in 2021 at 21 719 (2021: 5 905). In the next hour, at 02:00, this year-on-year growth was 238% at 14 533 (2021: 4299).
The shopping frenzy peaked between 16:00 and 17:00 with 526 595 card swipes in that hour. The most swipes by one card were 827.
The highest unique successful transaction by credit card was for an online transaction valued at R1,6-million and R739 600 for an online purchase via debit card. Most of the other spending was at supermarkets and department stores.
“It’s clear that this Black Friday has been a success for many retailers and shoppers alike, hoping to make the most of this day after the past two years,” Grunewald says.