Singles Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday mark the start of the busy holiday shopping season. For an issuer processor this brings with it a mix of excitement and apprehension as we work hard to make sure payments run smoothly over the course of the busy spending season.
Data Snapshot - Singles Day
This year’s Singles Day saw 402 brands achieve sales exceeding 100 million RMB ($13.7 million USD). In addition, gross merchandising volume (GMV) sales across major e-commerce platforms witnessed a notable 2.08% increase, reaching 1.14 trillion yuan ($156.40 billion).
This growth, although slightly lower than the 2.9% recorded the previous year, underscores the continued significance and scale of Singles Day, which is reported to be 2.4 times larger than Black Friday. To put this into perspective, while Black Friday achieved $65 billion USD in global sales in 2022, Singles Day surpassed this figure with $157 billion USD in sales last year.
The period leading up to Singles Day witnessed a surge in parcel volume, with a 23.22% increase to 5.26 billion packages between November 1st and November 11th. On the peak day itself, 639 million parcels were delivered across China, reflecting a substantial 15.76% year-on-year rise.
Data Snapshot - Black Friday and Cyber Monday
During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping period from November 24th to November 27th, 2023, Paymentology’s internal data revealed an 8% increase in payment transactions compared to the previous week. This surge in activity aligns with the broader retail landscape, as reported by Mastercard SpendingPulse™, which indicated a 2.5% year-over-year rise in U.S. retail sales on November 24th.
E-commerce emerged as a key driver of this growth, with online sales experiencing a robust 8.5% year-over-year increase. Consumers, seeking to capitalise on deals while avoiding crowded stores, contributed significantly to this trend.
The popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) methods was another notable highlight of the holiday shopping season. According to Adobe, U.S. holiday shoppers embraced BNPL services such as Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, collectively spending an impressive $7.3 billion. A survey conducted by PYMNTS Intelligence further exemplified the appeal of BNPL options, revealing that shoppers using these services spent an average of $598 on Black Friday. In contrast, those who did not opt for deferred payment methods had an average spending of $452.
These insights not only provide a snapshot of the recent shopping trends but also highlight the evolving preferences of consumers, emphasising the significance of online channels and flexible payment options in shaping retail dynamics during peak shopping seasons.
Client Support: Behind the Scenes
For Paymentology, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for clients, and in turn, their customers, during these peak periods is our top priority. Our Chief Technology Officer (CTO), James Letley, sheds light on the strategies we employ to navigate the holiday shopping season:
Our team meticulously plans for each peak day on the holiday shopping calendar. Singles Day on 11th November, the busiest day for us, ran exceptionally smoothly this year. We attribute this success to our proactive approach, with additional monitoring and dedicated teams prepared to address any issues that may arise.
Throughout the entire festive period, we bolster our resources by increasing the number of team members vigilantly watching for any issues, and enhancing our infrastructure for added scalability. Fortunately, being fully integrated into the cloud provides us with the flexibility to scale up seamlessly, ensuring a robust system for handling increased loads.
Find out more in his video here:
As the holiday season continues to unfold, we are committed to providing a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for our clients, backed by our next-generation technology and a team ready to tackle any challenges that may arise.