South African consumers shopped their way to another strong performance over Black Friday 2025, with online spending surging past the 2024 bargain-hunting weekend period.
Online payment platforms and local banks reported double- and triple-digit growth on some platforms, reflecting higher volumes and a larger average basket size online.
Absa, Standard Bank, Peach Payments, Capitec and Ozow saw higher transaction values, record single-ticket spends and a shift toward “Black November”, with e-commerce shopping stretched across several weeks.
Absa says it witnessed an unmistakable shift towards online channels onBlack Friday weekend, which took place from 28 November to 1 December.
The bank’s transaction data shows online shopping continued to lead on average transaction value. While the average basket size of in-store purchases increased by 24% to R496, the average online basket increased to R827 year-on-year, it says.
Absa recorded transaction volumes that exceeded 2024 levels by midday on Black Friday and reported a peak of 441 card transactions per second.
Christine Wu, interim co-chief executive of personal and private banking at Absa, notes that Black Friday further demonstrates customers’ confidence in online shopping. “Basket sizes are growing 25% year-on-year. We anticipate Absa card activity to steadily increase as consumers take full advantage of extended sales.”
Peach Payments − which processes payments for many online retailers in the region − says it saw a strong weekend, with digital transaction volumes through its platform up more than 80%, and a 93% increase in rand value processed from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, compared to 2024.
This spike, according to the fintech firm, underlines how much of the Black Friday momentum now runs through payment gateways and online marketplaces, rather than physical tills.
“Over the four-day weekend, we processed more than 2.69 million transactions, to a total value of more than R1.86 billion,” says Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments.
“The retail industry alone grew its share of online sales over the four-day Black Friday weekend by 154% from last year. We continue to see deals being pulled in across the whole of November, not just the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend. We also continue to see a shift to online spending rather than in physical stores.”
While the vast majority of transactions were card payments, consumers are adopting a variety of new digital payment methods, comments Jain. Buy-now-pay-later payments processed by Peach Payments over the weekend grew by 753% in rand value from 2024.
“This Black Friday surpassed expectations in a year that has seen South African merchants face tough conditions.”
Ozow, which processes payments for thousands of local merchants, says Cyber Monday has overtaken Black Friday in total retail transaction volumes processed on Ozow this year, signalling a notable shift in consumer behaviour and when South Africans choose to spend.
While Ozow did not disclose overall transaction volumes or values, the fintech firm notes clear differences between 2024 and 2025 activity patterns, with online payments for 2025 overtaking 2024 in both volume and value.
On Black Friday 2025, the busiest period was between 07:00 and 11:00, with the peak spending hour occurring between 11:00 and 12:00.
By contrast, 2024 saw peak transaction values from 10:00 to 12:00, followed by spikes at 16:00 and again between 20:00 and 21:00. Last year’s activity was more evenly spread between mid-morning and late afternoon.
“Cyber Monday 2025, however, showed a different rhythm,” says Rachel Cowan, Ozow interim CEO.
“Activity was more evenly distributed throughout the day, unlike Black Friday where we saw concentrated early-morning surges,” Cowan explains. The Black November trend strengthened again this year, with many merchants launching promotions weeks before Black Friday. Some even started in late October.
The largest retail transaction in November on Ozow’s platform to date was R708 377 spent within the automotive sector.
Rise of hybrid economy
Capitec conducted a comparative analysis of three major economic weekends: Black Friday 2024, the mid-December holiday rush in 2025, and the end-of-January 2025 payday.
Despite the rise of Black November, the Black Friday weekend itself generated the highest volume (55 million transactions) and value (R25.3 billion) of the three periods analysed, says Capitec.
The bank recorded around 113 transactions per second through digital channels like Capitec Pay and online card purchases during Black Friday.
When compared to the January 2025 payday weekend, Black Friday spend was 15% higher in value and 8.8% higher in volume. This confirms that South Africans still reserve their biggest financial firepower for this specific promotional window, using it strategically to buy essentials, says the bank.
Francois Viviers, Capitec group executive of marketing and communications, explains: “We are seeing a hybrid economy. Our clients don't choose either cash or digital – they go for both, depending on the context. In December, basket sizes are larger as people buy gifts and food for the festive period. In January, the spending value drops, but the activity increases, with a 6.7% jump in transaction volume.”
While there was a rise in digital transactions, cash remains crucial, says Capitec. Its clients withdrew over R4.5 billion in the Black Friday period, a trend sustained by the need for daily purchases, the perceived convenience of currency and the avoidance of transaction fees.
Standard Bank says it saw online spend volumes grow by 75%, contributing to 23% of total retail volumes during the Black Friday weekend.
“Digital wallet transactions grew by 60% in value and contributed 11% to total spend, while e-commerce marketplaces saw value spend increase by 1 000% compared to the same period in 2024,” says the bank.
According to the banks and payments platforms, merchant snapshots suggest a mix of categories drove the increase in Black Friday online sales.
Electronics, gadgets, travel and “big-ticket” retail − where single purchases were up to R800 000 − were prominent. However, everyday categories, such as groceries and clothing, also registered heavy online activity during the shopping weekend.
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