Wealthy splurge on Black Friday
• Nedbank customer spends R1.2m, BankservAfrica records R1.6m transaction
One Nedbank customer spent R1.2m on Black Friday, while BankservAfrica, the continent’s largest automated payments clearing house, recorded an individual credit card transaction of R1.6m. In what was evidently a marathon shopping session, a single card paid for 827 transactions, BankservAfrica said.
One Nedbank customer spent R1.2m on Black Friday, while BankservAfrica, the continent’s largest automated payments clearing house, recorded an individual credit card transaction of R1.6m.
In what was evidently a marathon shopping session a single card paid for 827 transactions on the day, according to BankservAfrica, which facilitates payments between customers and merchants who use different banks.
FNB and Nedbank reported bumper Black Friday expenditure on bank cards, though food and groceries were the big winner, suggesting constrained consumers are using promotions for essentials.
Black Friday has typically been a day on which consumers splashed out on clothing and appliances such as televisions or big-ticket items such as washing machines.
BankservAfrica, which does not have sight of sales between customers and stores using the same bank, reported a 16% increase in spend to R3.9bn.
Nedbank, which reported Pick n Pay and Checkers as the big winners, experienced a 21% increase in total spend for the whole Black Friday weekend, but did not provide the figures involved. FNB recorded its card users made purchases to the value of more than R3bn.
SUCCESS
“It’s clear that this Black Friday has been a success for many retailers and shoppers alike, after the past two years,” said Martin Grunewald, chief business officer at BankservAfrica.
Black Friday is arguably the most important day in the retail calendar with many retailers including Mr Price and Shoprite having spent extra to increase inventory levels before the festive season a move that can be costly. The shopping day was muted during lockdown when consumers stayed at home, and it is still more popular among online shoppers, according to bank data.
FNB Virtual Cards, used as a safer way to pay online, experienced a big increase in spending, accounting for more than R137m in purchases compared with just R36m during 2021 Black Friday. Contactless payments by FNB customers increased 36%.
“Customers are becoming more aware of convenient and safer payment methods, whether they shop in-store or online,” Ashley Saffy, head of business development at FNB Card, said.
BankservAfrica experienced a 42% increase in sales using its online card authentication service payments called 3D-Secure
— with this method rising to 1.2-million transactions — as online shopping that grew in popularity in the pandemic remained popular even as consumers are more comfortable shopping in person.
Nedbank payments showed a clear preference for digital shopping. Privesan Naidoo, executive: trading products, said online transactions increased 88% year on year compared with the Black Friday weekend in 2021.
GROCERIES
Nedbank’s data for the whole 2022 Black Friday weekend showed an 11% increase in average spend by consumers, though the lender did not disclose values for any of the sales data analysed.
The 11% increase is similar to food inflation figures, with Stats SA reporting October inflation in food and nonalcoholic beverages hit 12%.
Nedbank said the three most popular spend categories on the Black Friday weekend were groceries and food, general shopping, and clothing, followed closely by fuel, alcohol, and furniture. This suggests much of the average spend increase can be explained by the increase in price of basic foods and household goods.
The strong Black Friday purchases experienced by FNB and Nedbank come while consumers are under strain from rampant inflation and a cumulative 325 basis points of interest rate increases by the Reserve Bank in 2022.
With inflation at 7.6% in October, well above the Bank’s 3%-6% target range, governor Lesetja Kganyago has warned consumers to brace themselves for the prospect of further rate hikes in 2023.
“In a market where consumers are seeing an increase in the cost of living, many were always likely to take advantage of Black Friday deals,” FNB Card CEO Chris Labuschagne said.
IN A MARATHON SHOPPING SESSION A SINGLE CARD PAID FOR 827 TRANSACTIONS