Black Friday transactions soar as shoppers bag bargains

Barclaycard, which processes nearly £1 in every £3 spent in the UK, said that by 10am this morning there had been a 12.5% increase in the volume of payment transactions versus the same period on Black Friday last year.

Barclaycard payments chief executive Rob Cameron said: “Over the past couple of years we have seen an increase in the volume of transactions on Black Friday. This trend has continued in 2019.

“This is fantastic news for retailers, with our data showing that transactions have also been strong throughout the week of Black Friday. With many retailers spreading their deals out throughout the week, they will be encouraged to see this hasn’t cannibalised sales volumes on Black Friday itself. It will be interesting to watch what happens as we progress throughout the day.”

IMRG strategy and insights director Andy Mulcahy also said that in the week leading up to Black Friday, sales were “far ahead” of the 2-3% sales growth forecast by the online retail association earlier this month.

Retailers ranging from Tesco to Next have taken part in the promotional extravaganza this year. Next, which initially shunned the promotion but took part for the first time last year, was offering 70% off selected lines online and in-store and free delivery today. Marks & Spencer is not running Black Friday deals but its site is offering promotions such as 50% off furniture until December 5.

Amazon said that from midnight until 8am it had sold 90,000 books and 70,000 sports products, while early bestsellers included the etailer’s voice-activated devices including its Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick, as well as the Nintendo Switch and Instant Pot Duo Electric Pressure Cooker. 

Health and beauty giant Boots reported that between midnight and 9am this morning it sold an average of 106 items per minute, 57,049 in total, and 18,300 orders were placed. The busiest time was between 8am and 9am, and bestsellers included Paco Rabanne eau de toilette and a Philips hair removal device.

Boots UK senior vice-president and managing director Seb James said: “Black Friday is fast becoming Black Fri-week, with UK retailers running one to two weeks of discounts rather than one single day, and Boots is no different.

“The teams from our distribution centres, stores and support office are working around the clock to deliver a brilliant customer experience both online and in-store, and we are absolutely thrilled with the results so far.”

eBay’s UK boss Rob Hattrell said that the online marketplace’s sales for the day so far were “comfortably ahead” of the 2-3% sector sales growth previously forecast by IMRG, bolstered by “triple-digit sales growth” in fashion, media and fragrance categories. He also forecast that the combination of a later Black Friday coinciding with pay day would lead to “double digit sales growth” over the next two to three weeks for eBay.

eBay’s Xbox bundle offer sold out in 40 minutes, with one sold every two seconds.

Dixons Carphone’s Currys PC World said there had been two orders a second on its website and the top-selling product so far has been Apple Airpods. Dixons Carphone go to market planning director Zeena Hill said: “We’ve seen a high volume of orders since our deals launched at 9pm last night, with shoppers taking full advantage of the big savings on offer.”

Carphone Warehouse notched up three orders per second on its site and the most popular items included the new Apple iPhone 11.

A spokesperson for rival electricals etailer AO.com said that last night it sold an Xbox One S per minute, “followed by a further 13 products being sold every minute since midnight”.

She said that “the mood has slightly shifted this morning” and the Shark Vacuum cleaner with Pet Hair Removal has been the most popular product of so far.