Black Friday damp squib in South Africa

Black Friday spending this year by consumers was muted, experts said, possibly reflecting the straitened circumstances of many South Africans battling with inflation and the higher cost of living.

Local shoppers have in recent years taken to the idea of bargain hunting on Black Friday, the last Friday in November, with gusto, some using it as an opportunity to stock up for Christmas while others see it as an annual opportunity to benefit from big savings on luxury items. But this year felt different.

Asked how the volume of purchases made on Black Friday this year compared with 2022’s figures, Ozow CEO Thomas Pays said despite a slight decrease in sales volumes, Ozow observed an intriguing new trend.

“The total value of the shopping basket was more than double that of 2022. We believe this is due to consumers spending more time selecting their preferred purchases and researching the best prices in order to maximise their budgets. This has resulted in transactions being distributed more evenly over the days leading up to Black Friday, as vendors now tend to spread their deals throughout the month,” Pays said. “So, while there were fewer transactions, it clearly shows the baskets were loaded in a more calculated manner to maximise savings.”

Ozow’s data reveals that the digital economy has experienced substantial growth.

“A significant number of consumers are now opting to bypass the hustle and bustle, queues and lengthy transaction times often associated with physical store purchases. Instead, they are choosing the convenience and efficiency of online transactions.”

Dashboard

Ozow’s data dashboard reveals some particularly impressive purchases this year. The day preceding Black Friday saw three transactions exceeding R500 000 each. On Black Friday itself, there was a single transaction for R818 000 for a travel package. On Saturday, one customer spent R800 000 across 10 separate transactions, Pays said.

“The shift we’re seeing reflects a more discerning shopper – a response to our economic climate. Instead of impulse buying, consumers are educating themselves to find the best product within their budget.”

First National Bank card customer value management head Ashley Saffy said the number of transactions made on FNB cards remained steady compared to Black Friday 2022. “In addition, we saw strong growth over Saturday and Sunday, with 9.7% more transactions made by our customers compared to the prior year,” she said.

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Total transaction volumes had exceeded 400 000/hour by 10am, peaking at just over 500 000 between 4pm and 5pm, according to FNB merchant services CEO Thokozani Dlamini.

E-commerce volumes averaged 6 000/hour through most of the day – although FNB’s e-commerce portfolio excludes the likes of Takealot and OneDayOnly, which are acquired by other banks.

Overall, both value and volumes were down on 2022 as the economy bites, coupled with Black Friday falling on the 24th – a day too early for most people who are paid monthly.

The total value of transactions was down 4.6%, with brick-and-mortar value down 4.8% and e-commerce value down 1.8%. The volume of e-commerce transactions was down 6%.

Saffy said 76% of customer spend was in store and 24% online overall. On credit cards specifically, 45% of customer spend was online, suggesting a huge shift to online. Technology, travel and clothing retailers were all very popular on Black Friday.

The worst performing sectors in terms of turnover value were furnishing, with a decline of 18.5% in value and 6.8% in volume, and the clothing sector, which also suffered a strong decline, down 11.8% in value and 16.8% in volume, according to FNB’s own data.

“Consumer behaviour has seen a lot of brick-and-mortar spend migrate to online platforms like Takealot (none of which we acquire). The pressure on these industries in the brick-and-mortar space can’t be discounted and is evidence of the lack of disposable income impacting the overall retail sector.”

The Western Cape was the only region with double-digit growth in both value and volume – up 12.3%, and 11.9% in volume – followed by Gauteng, with an increase of 8.4% in value despite volumes increasing 10.6%.

According to Absa Group, a move by retailers to spread Black Friday deals over the whole of November also helped retailers and consumers.

Black Friday

“Last year, Black Friday fell on the 25^th, which is pay day for many people,” said Absa card issuing head Tshipi Alexander. “That helped, but we didn’t see any lost spend this year because it fell on the 24^th as the campaign has been spread out over the whole month.”

Absa’s card transactions were flat. They spent money on groceries and clothing this year, and not on big-ticket purchases. The average cost per basket was R520, whereas last year it came in at R582.

“What we did see was a huge growth in e-commerce – 20% in volume – as customers became more comfortable with moving to digital purchasing.”

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Absa payments acceptance executive Vish Chetty agreed that big purchases, including travel and electronics, had taken a back seat as the average South African took advantage of Black Friday specials to stock up on groceries rather than luxuries. Consumers spent R8.3-billion on groceries, or 60% of Absa’s total retail transactions.

The overall winner from Black Friday 2023, though, was clearly online, where sales volumes soared compared to last year.  – © 2023 NewsCentral Media

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