Despite ongoing economic pressures, South African consumers turned out in record numbers to capitalise on Black Friday deals, driving notable growth in payment volumes and showcasing a clear preference for digital payment platforms and online shopping.

According to Privesan Naidoo, Executive: Trading Products at Nedbank, Black Friday 2024 marked an acquiring settlement milestone for Nedbank. “For the first time ever, our acquiring platform processed over R3 billion in settlements in a single day – an increase of 12.06% compared to the previous record,” Naidoo said.

Naidoo further highlighted the increasing popularity of alternative payment methods amongst South Africans. PayShap, South Africa's newest immediate payments platform, made its Black Friday debut this year, and Nedbank processed more than R3 billion in real-time transactions via the platform over the course of November. “The uptake of real-time payments through PayShap highlights the growing demand for speed and convenience in the South African payments landscape,” he added.

Several trends emerged from Nedbank’s transactional data for Black Friday 2024:

• Overall transactional growth: There was an 18% YoY growth in the number of customers transacting this Black Friday.
• Growth in online purchases: A 14% increase was recorded in the number of customers transacting online.
• Point of Sale (POS) sales also increased: POS transaction volumes rose by 14% and there was a 15% increase in the number of customers transacting via POS.

Nedbank’s analysis of the sectors and industries contributing to overall purchase values on Black Friday also revealed notable trends. Restaurants, wholesale stores and the healthcare industry recorded the highest YoY growth in spend, while travel and tour operators experienced the largest decline. Unsurprisingly, supermarkets accounted for the largest share of spend, followed by Game Stores and Takealot. Notably, Clicks, Checkers and Woolworths achieved the most significant YoY growth.

Standout Nedbank-facilitated transactions on Black Friday included a corporate purchase of R4 995 760 across five transactions and a purchase total by an individual of R1 283 424 across six transactions. The single highest individual transactions were for R3 328 422 by a corporate client and R551 128 for an individual, both using American Express cards. The highest number of transactions completed by an individual on Black Friday was 79, and 273 by a corporate client.

Data from Avo by Nedbank, the bank’s super app, also showed online shopping also showing robust growth, with double the number of transacting customers, orders and gross merchandise value (GMV) compared to Black Friday 2023. Avo’s GMV reached R2.5 million, up 108% YoY, with an average transaction value (ATV) of R4 921 for the day. The top-selling product by value on Avo was the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, while Klipdrift Premium Brandy was the bestseller by volume according to Vishal Maharaj Divisional Executive Group Technology.

Naidoo pointed out that Black Friday once again served as a stress test for Nedbank’s payment infrastructure, which seamlessly handled the surge in activity. “We are incredibly proud of the resilience of our systems,” he explained. “Our significant strategic investment in technology in recent years ensured that customers and merchants enjoyed uninterrupted and secure payment experiences.”

Naidoo is confident that the strong consumer activity seen over Black Friday this year sets a positive tone for the remainder of the holiday shopping season. “The significant uptick in consumer activity over Black Friday demonstrates the resilience of South African consumers and their increasing adoption of digital commerce,” he said. “As we move forward into the festive season, Nedbank remains committed to delivering innovative, secure, and customer-centric payment solutions to support the diverse shopping activities of its customers and cardholders.”

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