Black Friday was a day of even greater spending than in previous years, says Absa, reporting that by 11am the biggest single transaction was R638,000 spent on a holiday booking.
The bank reported that by 8am, this year’s transaction volumes had already surpassed those of last year, with point-of-sale transactions reaching a peak of 454 a second, a testament to surging consumer activity this year.
The big holiday transaction was for an overseas trip and underscored “the robust purchasing power of SA consumers during this retail frenzy, especially for overseas travel planning”.
Absa Everyday Banking executive for card issuing and rewards, Tshipi Alexander, attributed the strong consumer activity on the day to favourable timing and robust market dynamics.
“Unlike previous years, where the event fell earlier than the largest payday of the 25th, this year aligns with the payday for many consumers, driving higher spending and a greater willingness to spend early this weekend.”
Elsewhere in the economy, Peach Payments recorded more than 440,000 transactions through its platform on Black Friday. Top payment methods included Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Pay By Bank and Payflex.
Regionally, the most payments activity was seen in the Western Cape followed by Gauteng. After an initial bump at midnight, transaction activity steadily rose from 3am, with the most payments recorded from 11am to noon.
Fintech company Capital Connect had earlier predicted that SA’s wholesale, retail and fuel sectors would generate more than R88bn in additional value for the economy as a whole during November 2024 “amid surging consumer interest in Black Friday sales”.
A new study conducted by the Lesaka unit in partnership with the Bureau of Market Research (BMR), said total Black Friday direct retail gains would amount to about R22bn, with most of these coming from consumers buying necessities rather than luxuries.
Two major beneficiaries of Black Friday will be the wholesale sector as a major supplier to retailers, as well as fuel sales due to the heightened level of deliveries of goods to retailers and consumers.
E-commerce, which still forms a relatively small part of the retail pie, was also expected to get a bump through Black Friday sales, as well as Cyber Monday, which tends to be more geared towards technology and online sales.
According to a study by World Wide Worx in partnership with Mastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Afrika, SA online retail passed 6% of total retail in 2023, up from 5% previously. The report noted that sales through SA’s online retail sector surged to R71bn last year. This represents a 29% increase from 2022, positioning the sector to break the R100bn mark by 2026.
Earlier in the month, Absa also noted an increase in the total value of e-commerce transactions over the past year, with total turnover increasing 25% year on year in the first quarter, 16% in the second and 19% in the third.
“The data suggests that consumers are increasingly embracing the convenience, variety and efficiency of online shopping, which bodes well for retailers with an online presence ahead of Black Friday,” the bank said.
While the average value of e-commerce transactions has grown from about R350 to R430 between the beginning of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024, the average value of physical retail transactions has dropped slightly from about R350 to R340, the bank noted.
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