Black Friday sales have seen a massive surge across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa , hitting an 83% increase compared to the 2023 figure.
According to data from the online payment service PayU GPO, the average shopping cart size also increased by 11% year-on-year.
The average transaction amount during the sales period increased by 13% compared to the period of November 20-23. The number of payment cards increased by 85% during the period, while the number of customers using mobile payment solutions increased by 7% compared to the previous year.
“While payment methods continue to evolve each year, it’s fantastic to see consumers adopting saved digital cards, and benefitting from the additional security they bring. This trend stands as a promising precursor to the potential uptake of PayShap once “Request to Pay” makes its entrance into the market,” Karen Nadasen, CEO of PayU South Africa, said.
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PayU GPO also has an 89% support rate across the three major e-commerce platforms. While sales in e-commerce are down slightly compared to 2022, beauty, fashion, travel, entertainment, and electronics purchases have recovered.
Additionally, 50% of customers prefer frictionless payments and API-based EFT payments. This facilitates cross-border trade, giving financial management companies like PayU GPO more business opportunities. Currently, PayU GPO connects 450,000 merchants to millions of customers in over 30 markets worldwide.
At the beginning of April, Jumia Kenya launched a 30-day Black Friday event offering up to 50% off on over 10 million products. The e-commerce company is tracking Kenya’s efforts to revive its fortunes on the continent after breaking away from South Africa and Tunisia.
The growth of fintech companies and e-commerce startups that provide seamless online payment platforms will push the mainland market to a value of $113 billion by the end of the decade.
