Checkout.com BFCM weekend spending insights

The latest transaction data from leading global digital payments company Checkout.com has found UK consumer spending during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend surged during working hours. On Friday 29th November, spending peaked between 9am and 10am, and on Monday 2nd December, sales saw a spike at 10am.

The busiest shopping day was Black Friday, with the total spend in the UK increasing by a significant 70% from the same day in the previous month (last Friday of October). Cyber Monday also saw a significant 30% increase on the previous month’s equivalent day (28th October).

Rory O’Neill, CMO at Checkout.com said, “The spike in sales at the start of the working day on Black Friday shows there is a keen appetite from UK consumers to snap up a bargain early, during work time. However, the second largest spike of the long weekend is at 10am on Cyber Monday. This shows people are still prioritising sales shopping over spreadsheets, perhaps only delayed by an hour due to having to catch up on emails and attend Monday morning meetings.” 

Despite many sales spanning Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the ‘officially titled’ days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday outperformed the weekend sales dates, with 59% of the spend happening on Friday (36%) and Monday (23%), compared to 41% on the weekend dates (Saturday (21%) and Sunday (20%)).

While most categories saw sales peak during Black Friday, both the Travel and Clothing categories peaked at 9pm on Cyber Monday. 

O’Neill continues, “The peaks late on Cyber Monday in both Clothing and Travel are a masterclass in marketing and demand. The surge is driven by retailers in these sectors pushing deals up until the last minute, to increase their share of the consumer’s wallet. This, when coupled with consumers’ eagerness to not miss out on once-in-a-year deals, leads to a significant spike in purchases.

“Amidst a challenging economic environment, retailers are clearly working hard to incentivise shoppers to spend their hard-earned cash during the peak BFCM sales – and it has paid off. These sales set the tone for the whole holiday shopping period, but while we’ve seen a strong BFCM peak in 2024, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Retailers should not just focus efforts on these tentpole events, but look for ongoing, sustainable growth through offering targeted sales throughout the year – essentially creating a market where every day is potentially a peak season sale.

“It’s also critical that retailers set themselves up for successful sales conversions. The digital experience plays a big part in that success – along with a smooth, straightforward payment process at the checkout, to avoid cart abandonment or false declines.”

Looking at the busiest day, Black Friday, Checkout.com saw the following trends:

Morning:

• The 9am-10am surge was largely driven by a boom  in purchases for “General Retail and High Street” and “Department Stores” merchants. The spend on General Retail in the UK saw a 54% increase compared with the control day (last Friday of October) and Department Stores spend increased by 346% compared with the last Friday of the previous month.
• Training and education purchases spiked at 7am and saw a 33% increase in UK spend on Black Friday compared with the last Friday of the previous month. 
• Theatre and entertainment tickets peaked at 9am, with a 328% increase for the same time on the control day (last Friday of October). The overall total UK spend on Black Friday on theatre/entertainment tickets was a 120% increase on the amount spent during the last Friday of the previous month.
• Furniture and home furnishings spending spiked at 11 am and saw 48% increase compared to the last Friday of the previous month.
   

Lunchtime:

• Electrical stores spend spiked at 1pm and UK spend saw a 478% increase on Black Friday compared with the last Friday of the previous month.
• Hardware stores also spiked at 1pm on Black Friday and UK spend saw a 262% increase compared with the last Friday of the previous month.
• Digital goods: (Media, books, movies, music) spiked at 2pm on Black Friday and saw a 58% increase in UK spend compared with the last Friday of the previous month. 

Evening:

• Jewellery and watches spiked at 6pm and saw a 115% increased spend compared with the last Friday of the previous month.
• Cosmetics spend spiked at 7pm on Black Friday, with an overall 563% increase compared to the last Friday of the previous month.

Concluding, O’Neill summarises, “Early purchases from general high street retailers and department stores indicate people are browsing and looking for deals across all consumer categories early, but not necessarily with a specific deal in mind. Categories such as Electricals, which include white goods and TVs – items, which are likely to be more considered, planned and researched – peaked at 1pm, suggesting consumers went for specific deals, rather than impulse buys, on their lunch break. 

“There is then another surge in consumer items, with Jewellery & Watches and Cosmetics peaking in the evening. This second wave suggests further impulse buying based on specific marketing from brands they follow, which has driven them to sales while browsing in the evening.”