UK Black Friday transactions beat pre-Covid numbers says Barclaycard
Black Friday spending volumes exceeded those of both 2020 and the pre-pandemic shopping day in 2019, Barclaycard revealed.
The payments giant, which processes nearly £1 in every £3 spent in the UK, said that as of 17:30 on Friday, it had seen a 23 per cent increase in the volume of payments compared to the same period on Black Friday last year nd a 2.4 per cent increase on a two-year comparison.
It came after the company kicked off the day with a noticeable uplift online too. It had earlier said that between 00:01 and 09:00, data showed a 5.4 per cent rise on 2019, and a 21.4 per cent increase on 2020.
There had been various spending predictions but also a lot of uncertainty before the day as 2020’s Black Friday had been significantly dampened by Covid however with shoppers as enthusiastic as they had been pre-Covid, it is now clear there is significant pent-up shopping demand still being released.
Barclaycard Payments chief executive Rob Cameron said: “It is great to see that the trend we have been seeing throughout the day has continued, and retailers will be happy that today’s trading figures have surpassed those secured in 2019,”
“They will be hoping for this spending pattern to continue, not only in the last few hours of trading, and into Cyber Monday, but also in the run-up to the festive season. Consumers have retained their love for grabbing a Black Friday bargain, proving this event remains a firm fixture in the annual shopping calendar.”
