Square and Afterpay Merchants Saw More Than 61 Million Transactions From Black Friday to Cyber Monday
Over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, Square and Afterpay sellers saw more than 61 million transactions as consumers globally kicked off the holiday shopping season.
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The peak minute for shopping occurred on Monday, November 28 at 11:15 am ET. Cities with the largest volume of sales were New York & Brooklyn, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Toronto.
“The Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend kicks off the biggest shopping season for businesses – but it’s only the beginning,” said Alyssa Henry, Head of Square.
“We’re entering a pivotal month for businesses to end the year with strong momentum, especially given recent headwinds. Sellers should leverage multiple revenue streams across online and in-person to ensure a successful holiday season, using software like marketing and loyalty programs to keep their business top of mind and to attract customers.”
Transactions of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) methods through Afterpay grew 120% compared to pre-holiday across online and in-person.*
This is in line with findings from Square and Afterpay’s Festive Forecast report, where one in six Americans reported that they planned to use BNPL during the gift-giving period.
In addition, nearly 80% of consumers said they would spend the same, if not more, compared to last year.
Gift cards continue to be a top-selling item during the holidays, with more than 245,000 physical and e-gift cards sold this year.
The top industries for gift card sales were food and beverage, beauty and personal care, and healthcare and fitness.
Consumers who preferred to purchase physical gifts saw an average Black Friday / Cyber Monday discount of 21%, with sellers using Square Marketing to advertise their offers and drive sales.
Afterpay BNPL Top Categories
Fastest growing Afterpay item categories:
- Food and Beverage: 251%
- Hardware: 128%
- Travel and Experiences: 57%
- Automotive: 32%
- Footwear: 16%
Trending Afterpay search terms:
- PS5: 142%
- Gift cards: 30%
- Toys: 40%
- Nintendo Switch: 132%
- Xbox: 100%
Trending online products purchased with Afterpay:
- Beauty advent calendars
- Fluffy slides
- Perfume
- Sneakers
- Tracksuits
* Pre-Holiday Afterpay Growth: Square and Afterpay compared the number of transactions using Afterpay between October 1, 2022 – October 7, 2022 and November 21, 2022 – November 27, 2022.
Square acquired the leading Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payments solution Afterpay in 2021.
All data presented is unaudited and subject to adjustment.
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