While FNB has seen a jump in Black Friday sales, PayU says its data shows that Covid-19 has dented the basket size, down by 22 percent, due to the fact that people have less money.
FNB said this week that Black Friday spending had increased by 19 percent year-on-year, with transactions worth more than R2 billion processed on its Speedpoints. Furthermore, FNB cardholders made purchases in excess of R2.5 billion on Black Friday, an increase of 15 percent compared to 2020.
FNB chief executive Jacques Celliers said "Our stats also show heightened shopping activity beyond Black Friday, with transactions for the month of November up 25 percent compared to the same month in 2020.“
However, Karen Nadasen, the chief executive of PayU South Africa and chairperson of the E-commerce Forum of South Africa, said: "The good news is that the online shopping landscape has changed for the better – more South Africans are buying more products – but Covid has dented the basket size, down by 22 percent, and the way shoppers approach the biggest online shopping day of the year doesn't look quite the same as it used to. The Black Friday experience is changing annually.“
Just a few years ago, South Africans were staying up until the clock struck midnight to snatch the early bargains. Nadasen said: "Last year, we saw a 33 percent drop in volume compared to 2019, in that first hour of trading between 12pm and 1am, and this year we saw an additional 6 percent drop. This seems to stem from last year's disappointing Black Friday experience where many shoppers felt the good deals simply didn't materialise, and, of course, the fact that people have less money,“ she said.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE