Comparable to the consistent growth in transaction volumes between Black Friday and Cyber Monday over the past four years, FNB expects e-Commerce to continue gaining momentum as one of the preferred shopping channels this year.
“In 2019, during the Black Friday weekend transaction volumes on FNB POS (Point of Sale) devices grew by 32% compared to 2018, while e-Commerce transactions grew over 30%,” said Thokozani Dlamini, FNB Merchant Services CEO.
“This year we anticipate a 10% increase in the total number of e-Commerce transactions between 27 and 30 November, when compared to last year, as many consumers who participate in Black Friday may opt to shop online instead of going into brick and mortar stores.
“While we don’t expect a significant increase in year on year transaction values from a Rand perspective, due to the financial impact of Covid-19 and a tough economic environment, Black Friday e-Commerce volumes are certainly going to increase.”
Dlamini added that activity through this channel has grown tremendously as consumers were restricted from visiting brick and mortar shops during the hard lockdown period.
“e-Commerce now plays a significant role in the lives of consumers as they can conveniently shop in the comfort of their homes, at any time of the day,” Dlamini noted.
“Merchants have also upped their game by providing superior customer experience and investing in their platforms to ensure a seamless sales experience, regardless of the types of devices used by consumers when shopping.
“One such example is increased support for QR Code payments, where the customer opts to checkout through simply scanning the presented QR Code to pay.
“As a direct consequence of Covid-19 our e-commerce merchant base has increased by 26%. More merchants are now offering a combination of brick and mortar as well as digital sales, with a lot of value and specials offered to consumers who prefer to shop online.”
Dlamini also said that given that Black Friday and Cyber Monday officially kick start the festive season, merchants that have been significantly impacted by Covid-19 are also looking to maximise on sales to recover and make up for lost income.
“Moreover, as a proactive strategy to manage volumes and maximise sales from shoppers seeking to take advantage of Black Friday deals, we have noted that some Retailers are now spreading specials for the entire month of November, instead of a week prior Black Friday as was done in previous years,” Dlamini described.
“For those consumers that will opt to go into brick and mortar stores for Black Friday shopping, we expect a significant increase in the use of contactless card payments.
“Our customers also enjoy a range of convenient Digital Payment alternatives such as Scan to Pay for QR code payments, FNB Pay on the FNB App, Samsung Pay, FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay which can be used at any contactless enabled merchant point of sale device.”