Black Friday’s big spenders so far: R340 000 on one transaction

South African consumers are already spending big on Black Friday, with some consumers already spending eye-watering amounts on everything from groceries to food, drinks, transport and travel.

According to the Ozow Black Friday dashboard, one consumer already spent R340 000 on one single transaction by 11:00. The average transaction value by 11:00 was R494.80, while the most transactions by one consumer using Ozow to pay was 13 transactions.

The top three transactions by amount were R826 000 one consumer paid in 12 transactions, followed by R340 000 spent in one transaction and R321 500 spent in ten transactions. The most transactions so far by one individual were 104, followed by someone else with 63 transactions and someone else with 57.

According to the Peach Payments Black Friday dashboard, 157 514 transactions were registered by 11:00. By 11:00 the biggest transaction was for R138 440.

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This is what people are buying on Black Friday

According to the Discovery Bank Black Friday dashboard, the average local in-store card transaction value was R471, while the average online card transaction value was R1 071. The largest single card transaction was for R400 200.

The top stores by total value where consumers spent their money in-store were Spar, SnoMaster, Pick n Pay, Meltrade, Pro Shop, OK Foods, Checkers, Totalsports, Boxer ad Exclusive Books. Online the top stores were Takealot, Amazon, OneDayOnly, Superbalist, Makro, Checkers Sixty60, Woolworths Dash, Hirch’s, Temu and Shein.

Consumer using their Discovery Bank cards spent their money on recreation (22%), transport and travel (10%), health and personal care (8%), food and drink (7%) and home (6%). But the number of purchases, they spent on food and drink (23%), transport and travel (22%), recreation (16%), home (4%) and clothing (3%).

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Brisk Black Friday sales growth expected

BankservAfrica expects brisk Black Friday sales growth amid improving economic conditions and that rising optimism is set to drive sales this year. “Black Friday is set to highlight the major shopping shifts, including online vs in-store spending trends and the impact of the move from single-day deals to ‘Black November’ promotions.

“Sales are expected to reflect renewed economic optimism as the country rebounds following the 2024 national elections,” Solly Bellingan, head of marketing and acting head of cash services at BankservAfrica, says.

“With a booming e-commerce sector offering competitive deals, shoppers can conveniently hunt for bargains from home. Our findings from last year show Black Friday activity peaked during the first and final hours.”

Elize Kruger, an independent economist, says the South African economy is shaping into a ‘tale of two halves’ in 2024, with several recent developments expected to positively influence this year’s Black Friday and November sales.

“The unexpected election outcome resulting in the formation of the Government of National Unity has indeed propelled the economy to a better medium-term growth trajectory. Improved confidence levels among businesses and consumers, and a renewed focus on structural reform measures could push economic growth to higher levels.”

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Economist also expects Black Friday spending to surge

She expects consumer spending to surge this November, specifically for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, driven by significant fuel price relief in the past few months, two interest rate cuts, cooling inflation pressures and the best salary performance in four years.

There is the potential that a portion of the two-pot retirement withdrawals could boost retail spending as recent data from Sars shows that by the end of October, 1.7 million individuals applied for nearly R30 billion in withdrawals.

“While the economic environment has improved considerably compared to a year earlier, households remain heavily indebted and are still on the backfoot after some years of strain. Consumers will likely remain price-sensitive during this shopping period.

“Black Friday could be an opportunity to stock up on attractive deals, partly in anticipation of the festive season. However, given the more favourable macro environment, bigger ticket items such as appliances are likely to be more in demand, unlike the last few years.”

ALSO READ: Tips on how not to overspend on Black Friday

Black Friday spending already started earlier in November

Buy-now-pay-later provider PayJustNow has revealed consumer spending behaviour for the month to date, signalling a record number of shoppers and spending power this Black Friday.

For the month to date, PayJustNow’s retail base of over 2700 merchants across 8000 stores was already tracking 68% growth in gross merchandise value in comparison to the entire month of November last year.

Dean Hyde, COO at PayJustNow, says that the results speak to improved consumer sentiment and confidence following a steady increase in retail performance over the last few months.

“With over 90 brands and stores showcasing their Black Friday Deals through our platform, we have seen a 110% increase in unique shoppers clicking on offers in the month to date this year compared to the full month of November last year.”

But Hyde says that shoppers have been doing their research and eyeing deals since the beginning of October. “Views on deals were up 85% in October compared to September, and we are now tracking at 47 million views, 60% more views than the whole of October.” 

He says big brand department stores/marketplaces are dominating as anticipated, followed by fashion and footwear. “High-end brands like Adidas and Steve Madden are already seeing massive interest and uptake, while categories like Tech and Electronics, Home and Motor are set to shine this year.”

The biggest single transaction on Black Friday last year was R818 000 for a travel package that someone paid for using Ozow, while someone else spent R429 000 on a single transaction and another R405 000 across 24 payments.