Disappointing #BlackFriday suggests uncertain outlook for Christmas season shopping
PwC Strategy & analysis
Mixed signals during Black Friday
While more South Africans participated in the Black Friday shopping event in 2018 compared to the preceding year, the average spend per consumer dropped noticeably. The decline in per-customer spending was also visible in the United States (US), where the concept of Black Friday US online sales showed continued popularity with a 24% increase in transaction numbers, according to Adobe Analytics[1].Furthermore, this year’s Cyber Monday was the single largest shopping day in US history with reports of an estimated $7.9 billion spent – an increase of 19.7%from 2017[1].
Two in three South Africans participated in Black Friday in 2018; an increase from a 54% participation rate in 2017. From an online perspective, BankservAfrica counted over 400,000 sales transactions -a 55% increase compared to last year. Similarly, Cyber Monday sales transactions increased by 36% this year to 176 595.[1] In parallel, transactions per minute increased considerably on both days,according to Black Friday Global Analysis.[2]
In contrast, electronic funds transfer (EFT)transaction values decreased by 19%.[3] Retail management platform Vend reported that in-store retail spending in South Africa over the 2018 Black Friday shopping period decreased by 10% compared to last year, while volumes also saw a decrease of 2%.[4]
Nonetheless, spending results were encouraging in certain product segments. Clothes, electronics and shoes were the most bought items.[5] Small business funder Retail Capital[6]reported the following increases on credit card usage based on product category during the Black Friday weekend:
Winners during Black Friday weekendoriginated.
Comments
Post a Comment