Shoppers kicked off their Black Friday deal hunting at midnight with volumes up by 75% compared to the same time on Thursday, but 11% down from Black Friday 2023. Henk Kruger / Independent Media
Black Friday 2024 delivered a day of exciting deals and shopping activity, performing well above a typical shopping day and marginally higher than the levels in 2023, according to early insights from BankservAfrica.
Tracking the 24-hour results, BankservAfrica analysed transaction volumes against both the preceding day (Thursday, 28 November), representing a typical shopping day, and Black Friday 2023 for a year-on-year comparison.
The BankservAfrica 3D-Secure online card authentication service showed the overall volumes were up by 27% compared to the previous day and 6% higher compared to Black Friday 2023.
Midnight deal hunting started slow but built up in the morning:
Shoppers kicked off their Black Friday deal hunting at midnight with volumes up by 75% compared to the same time on Thursday, but 11% down from Black Friday 2023.
Activity ramped up from 06:00, and by 10:00, volumes were 79% higher than the same time on Thursday. Online activity peaked between 09:00 and 10:00.
All-day appeal of online deals:
The online shopping frenzy continued throughout the day with merchants leveraging enticing deals to keep customers interested – and shopping.
Throughout the day online shopping momentum held high.
By late afternoon, at 17:00, 3D Secure CNP volumes were still holding strong with a 78% increase on Thursday and a steady year-on-year growth of 4%, having a slight edge over 2023 levels.
The final push to the end:
“The rush to get the last-minute Black Friday deals was evident in our tracking,” BankServ Africa said.
Just before the clock struck midnight, at 23:00, volumes were 75% up compared to Thursday but 8% down compared to Black Friday 2023.
BUSINESS REPORT