Discovery Bank’s Black Friday analysis shows that digital wallets and virtual cards are fast becoming the preferred way for consumers to pay, with nearly two-thirds of in-store card transactions now made via tap-to-pay with smart devices and a third of online spend using virtual cards.
Hylton Kallner, Discovery Bank CEO. Image supplied
This shift highlights how South African shoppers are embracing secure, convenient digital payment methods as part of their everyday shopping experience – and doing so in an environment where lower interest rates and easing inflation are supporting a gradual recovery in spending power.
Hylton Kallner, Discovery Bank CEO commented, “Black Friday is a powerful barometer of consumer trends and economic health. Our SpendTrend Dashboard not only tracks the pulse of South African shoppers in real time, but also highlights how consumers are favouring digital payments, accessing international marketplaces, and tapping into rewards for more value. This year we’ve seen strong growth in card spend and transaction volumes alongside clear signs of disciplined, value-conscious shopping as clients take advantage of lower interest rates and targeted deals to stretch their budgets further.”
Real-time insights with the Discovery Bank SpendTrend dashboard
Discovery Bank once again offered a real-time Black Friday dashboard, providing clients, retailers, and the media with transparent insights into spending trends as they happened.
The SpendTrend Dashboard offered a unique view of how, where, and when South Africans shopped, and how payment preferences are evolving.
“Discovery Bank introduced a real-time Black Friday dashboard, providing clients and the market with a clear view of spending trends as they unfold. This approach reflects our focus on digital innovation and is intended to offer retailers useful data about changes in consumer behaviour across payment options, shopping channels, and product categories. By sharing this information, our goal is to help improve understanding of consumer and shopping behaviour as the retail landscape continues to evolve,” says Kallner.
Black Friday spend recovery in a changing rate environment
Black Friday 2025 took place against a backdrop of easing inflation and a series of interest rate cuts after two years of tighter monetary policy.
The South African Reserve Bank has reduced the repo rate to 6.75%, bringing the prime lending rate to 10.25%, which, together with lower inflation, is starting to ease pressure on household finances.
Within this context, Discovery Bank’s data shows a clear, though cautious, recovery in consumer activity: higher overall spend, more transactions and smaller average baskets. This is consistent with broader industry commentary, which highlights resilient Black Friday demand supported by recent rate cuts and more optimistic – though still value-focused shoppers.
Additional insights from the SpendTrend analysis
- Online shopping nearly matching in-store: Online spend accounted for 45% of all Black Friday card spend among Discovery Bank clients. Online card transactions were also 45% higher than on a typical last-Friday-of-the-month, underscoring the increasing shift to digital shopping. While in-store volumes grew strongly, online is growing faster.
- Growth in spend and transactions but with smaller baskets: Average transaction sizes declined by 3% in-store and 9% online, indicating that clients are breaking purchases into more, smaller baskets and using deals to stretch their budgets. This points to a positive recovery in activity, with consumers using the breathing room from lower interest rates to manage spend more actively rather than simply increasing basket sizes.
- Black Friday as a “super-charged Payday Friday”: In-store purchase volumes were about 20% higher than a typical last- Friday-of-the-month, positioning Black Friday as the key spending day that amplifies regular payday-weekend behaviour.
- Black Friday becomes a 24-hour event: Only 54% of total online spend occurred during traditional store trading hours (9am–6pm), compared to 77% of in-store spend. This shows a significant share of online spend happening outside normal trading hours, as clients use online channels to secure deals before stores open and to avoid peak-time congestion.
- Everyday and home-focused spending prevails: Food and drink, recreation, and home goods were the top three Black Friday spend categories. Younger clients (under 25) used Black Friday to refresh their wardrobes, with clothing ranking as their secondhighest spend category, while older clients focused more on groceries, home, and recreation – mirroring broader market observations that essentials and high-utility items continue to dominate in a cautious recovery.
- International marketplaces gain share: International retailers such as Shein and Temu continued to grow in popularity, with South African shoppers mixing international and local ecommerce platforms to access competitively priced imported goods and cross-border deals.
- Value-seeking and disciplined shopping: The combination of higher overall spend and volumes with smaller average transaction values suggests price-sensitive shopping in a high cost-of living environment. Clients are breaking up purchases, comparing prices, and targeting deals, rather than making large one-off splurges. The dominance of online, digital wallets and virtual cards shows that clients are shopping where it’s easiest to compare, search, and track, using secure, app-based payment tools that fit into a broader money-management and rewards
ecosystem.
