UK’s Black Friday online spending growth set to beat the US

Grab your party hats and Union Jacks because the UK’s Black Friday online spending growth is set be higher than America’s according to new data from Ingenico ePayments, the online and mobile division of Ingenico Group.

The company’s global analysis of online retail growth from 2015 reveals that the estimated total amount spent online in the UK rose by 273% on Black Friday, compared to the average Friday. Meanwhile in the US, there was a general sense of apathy, comparatively, with only a 137% increase on an average Friday.

In fact, according to the Centre for Retail Research, the UK dominates the e-commerce space, with the country’s online share of retail trade being more than that of the US, Germany and France. It’s more than four times bigger than that of Poland, Spain and Italy.

“We’ve witnessed first-hand the Black Friday migration from bricks and mortar to online, and now the momentum is shifting from the United States to the UK,” said David Jimenez, Chief Revenue Officer at Ingenico ePayments.

Not just to the UK it seems, but the European continent also. Germany, France and Italy all saw online total spending surge more than 215%. Ingenico says Denmark and Spain registered “particularly strong performances” with total value transactions rising over 690% on the average Friday.

Ingenico says that in the US Black Friday is being replaced by Cyber Monday as the must-shop day with sales volumes of the latter  being 60% higher than of Black Friday in 2016.

“This year, we expect to see online spending peaks on Black Friday in the UK, Cyber Monday in the US and we’ve already seen the Singles Day boom across China,” Jimenez adds.

This year’s Singles Day was another record breaker, with Alibaba sales increasing by 32% on last year’s total of $14.3 billion.

Jimenez says that retailers must effectively manage the increasing demand for online shopping.

“Maximising these opportunities will mean offering customers a choice of payment options and a quick checkout experience even at the busiest times. The UK and Europe continue to register phenomenal online growth and, we’re committed to furthering the seasonal online sales boom here.”

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