South African consumers defied economic pressures this Black Friday, turning out in record numbers to seize deals. Individual banking data showed a surge in payment volumes, underscoring a growing preference for digital payment platforms and online shopping. However, overall data showed more subdued results compared to previous years.
At Nedbank, Black Friday 2024 set an acquiring settlement record, with the bank’s platform processing more than R3 billion in settlements in a single day – a 12.06% increase compared to its previous high.
Nedbank’s transaction data showed an 18% year-on-year (YoY) growth in the number of customers transacting during Black Friday. Online purchases saw a 14% increase, while point-of-sale (POS) transactions experienced a 14% rise, accompanied by a 15% uptick in customers using POS systems.
Sector analysis highlighted restaurants, wholesale stores, and the healthcare industry as the leaders in YoY spending growth. However, travel and tour operators recorded the largest decline. Supermarkets dominated overall spend, followed by Game Stores and Takealot, with Clicks, Checkers, and Woolworths achieving the highest YoY growth.
Noteworthy transactions facilitated by Nedbank included a corporate purchase totalling R4 995 760 across five transactions and an individual spending R1 283 424 across six transactions. The largest single transactions were R3 328 422 by a corporate client and R551 128 by an individual, both via American Express cards. Additionally, the highest number of transactions completed on Black Friday reached 79 by an individual and 273 by a corporate client.
Avo by Nedbank, the bank’s super app, also reflected robust growth. The platform doubled its number of transacting customers, orders, and gross merchandise value (GMV) compared to Black Friday 2023. Avo’s GMV reached R2.5 million, a 108% YoY increase, with an average transaction value of R4 921 for the day. Among its top-selling items, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra led by value, while Klipdrift Premium Brandy topped sales by volume.
Privesan Naidoo, executive: trading products at Nedbank, noted the growing preference among South Africans for alternative payment methods. This year marked the Black Friday debut of PayShap, South Africa’s newest immediate payments platform, which saw significant activity. Over the course of November, Nedbank processed more than R3 billion in real-time transactions via the platform.
“The uptake of real-time payments through PayShap highlights the growing demand for speed and convenience in the South African payments landscape,” Naidoo said.
FNB
First National Bank customers surpassed last year’s record for Black Friday spending, with purchases exceeding R3.2bn on the day. The bank reported an 11% YOY increase in Black Friday spending, processing transactions worth more than R5.4bn through its Speedpoint devices. In total, FNB handled 20 million card transactions, peaking at an impressive 690 transactions a second.
“As expected, the most popular spend categories included groceries, clothing, and entertainment,” said Senzo Nsibande, the chief executive of FNB Card. “The most growth was seen in the travel category, with 15.4%, and clothing, with 11.4% compared to last year.”
E-commerce experienced a significant boost, with a 37% increase in transaction values and a 76% rise in transaction volumes. Brick-and-mortar transactions also grew, with a 10% increase in value and a 19% rise in volume. The strongest YoY growth was seen in tourism (37%), variety goods (26%), and apparel (24%).
Top merchants driving retail activity included Takealot, Checkers60, and Uber for online purchases, while in-store spending was led by Checkers, Shoprite, and Spar.
Among the standout transactions recorded by FNB was a R780 000 purchase at Cartier Boutique.
Again, a significant trend this year was the rising popularity of digital payments, particularly the FNB Virtual Card, which saw a 59% increase in customer spend compared to last year.
Nsibande said FNB also noted a strong shift towards digital payment methods. “Over Black Friday weekend, 18% of all in-store transactions were made via digital wallets, which increased by 43% YoY. Online spend also performed well this weekend, with 23% of all spend online. For credit card specifically, 42% of customer spend was online, which has increased by 17% since the prior year,” he said.
Capitec
Capitec reported a 27% YoY increase in client spending over the Black Friday weekend, with total spending reaching R25.45bn across Friday and Saturday.
Francois Viviers, group executive: marketing and communications at Capitec, noted a shift in consumer behaviour.
“Our transaction data points to South Africans’ Black Friday shopping extending over the weekend, not just Friday. There’s also a clear trend of more South Africans shifting from cash to card and from in-store to online shopping. Additionally, we see a growing focus on shopping for essentials rather than luxury items,” he said.
The weekend saw notable transactions, with the largest Capitec single-card purchases recorded in essential categories. Grocery spending topped the list with a R287 535.82 purchase, followed by home improvement and hardware at R245 590.38, and clothing and fashion stores at R53 980.69.
Grocery retailers collectively recorded R1.98bn in spending, with Shoprite leading the pack, processing 892 408 Capitec Card payments. Among pharmacy retailers, Clicks emerged as a standout with over 304 000 transactions.
In the online space, Takealot.com dominated with more than 52 000 orders, while Shein solidified its status as the preferred online fashion destination with 13 666 transactions.
Ride-hailing services were also in high demand, with Uber facilitating 154 365 rides. Meanwhile, lottery purchases spiked, with more than 560 000 transactions during the two days.
South Africans showed a strong appetite for fast food, with clients spending R93m at popular outlets such as KFC and McDonald’s. Food delivery platforms also saw significant activity, with Mr D and Uber Eats recording a combined total spend of R27.79m, with Mr D leading the category.
Digital platforms continued to gain traction, as brands such as Hollywoodbets, Takealot.com, and Bash recorded R284m worth of transactions.
Mirroring the country’s shift towards digital payments, Capitec’s data showed that clients conducted 44 million digital transactions totalling R19.82bn. The value of online card payments rose by more than 38%.
BankServAfrica
Although most banks reported a robust YoY increase in Black Friday spending, BankservAfrica’s data revealed more subdued results compared to previous years.
As Africa’s largest automated clearing house, BankservAfrica facilitates interbank transactions. However, its data reflects only part of the broader Black Friday transaction landscape. This is because BankservAfrica does not process all interbank card transactions and excludes “on-us” transactions, where the cardholder and merchant share the same bank.
To analyse Black Friday activity, BankservAfrica compared 24-hour transaction volumes against a typical shopping day – Thursday, 28 November, the day before Black Friday – and data from Black Friday 2023.
According to Solly Bellingan, the head of marketing at BankservAfrica, this year’s Black Friday, marking its 10th full year in South Africa, aligned with expectations amid improving economic conditions and rising consumer optimism.
“However, annual growth was modest, suggesting that the Black Friday shopping frenzy over recent years has been steady but lacked the same intensity levels observed in earlier years,” he noted.
Bellingan highlighted several factors influencing this year’s shopping trends.
“The higher daily volumes suggest Black Friday remains a favourite. However, these could have also been influenced by the big day falling on or just after pay day, which would have boosted activity as shoppers made the most of the month-end specials,” he explained. “At the same time, with merchants running promotions throughout November, more consumers may have opted to spread their Black Friday purchases across the month. Additionally, keen price watchers could have found markdowns less than impressive.”
BankservAfrica’s in-store card transactions increased by 24% from the previous day and 10% YoY. Meanwhile, its 3D-Secure online card authentication service disclosed a 27% rise in online shopping volumes from the prior day and a 6% increase compared to Black Friday 2023.
“The annual comparison of in-store and online shopping reveals that both remain popular among South Africans,” Bellingan said. “While in-store promotions still attract significant crowds, online merchants have steadily raised their game with features like seamless payments, enticing promotions, improved delivery services, and the entry of new online retailers, giving consumers more options when it comes to finding the best deals.”
According to BankservAfrica, the total transaction value for Black Friday increased by 2% YoY, with spending concentrated on essentials. Large supermarket and grocery stores accounted for 1.5 million transactions, followed by fuel stations (343 720), family clothing stores (282 307), fast food outlets (271 130), restaurants (266 669), and miscellaneous stores (203 407). Notably, mobile network providers’ Black Friday deals contributed to 38% of all transactions processed by BankservAfrica, while grocery stores and supermarkets made up 11% of the total transaction volume.
Some highlights from in-store card transactions include:
- A single card recording 197 transactions totalling R127 556.
- The highest spend on a single card amounting to R6.6m across 22 uses.
- A single transaction of R580 000 at a car rental company, with other high-value transactions recorded at an art gallery and an agricultural services company.
On the online front, midnight shopping saw a slow start, but activity gained momentum from 6am, peaking between 9am and 10am. Online transactions remained strong throughout the day compared to a typical shopping day.
BankservAfrica noted a last-minute rush, with volumes surging by 75% in the final hour compared to the previous day, although annual growth was a modest 6%.
“Overall, the value of transactions increased by 21% YoY, showing markedly higher spend than in-store,” BankservAfrica stated.
