Swiss retailers can look forward to a successful discount war. On Black Friday this year, Switzerland spent more money than ever before through credit, debit and mobile payments. This illustrates an analysis by the AWP news agency based on data from Swiss Consumption Monitor, dating back to 2019.
This means that the record value before Black Friday 2021 is up another 3 percent. Originally from the United States and celebrated on the Friday after Thanksgiving, discount day remains a major sales booster for the Swiss retail business.
What’s striking: Unlike last year, more shoppers used credit cards in stores. Payments at “point of sale” nearly doubled from the previous year when certification was still mandatory in most indoor areas due to Corona.
The picture is completely different for credit card payments in e-commerce: Spending here has fallen by about a quarter compared to 2021.
The proportion of payments made via smartphone increased again by 10 percent on Black Friday this year. While the share of mobile in all cashless payments was 6.4 percent in 2021, it was only 4 percent in 2020.
The bargain hunt isn’t just limited to Black Friday, the volume of cashless payments was also significantly higher than usual the following Saturday. Overall, Switzerland spent over 20 percent more during the week of Black Friday than the previous week. Compared to average weekly payments in 2022, this represents a 15 percent increase.
Cyber Monday took place last Monday, the day of action for online commerce, following Black Friday, which often resulted in another spike in cashless payments. However, data on this is not yet available.
Information from Swiss Consumption Monitor includes cashless payments processed through the network of Swiss financial services provider Worldline. They are presented to the public for research purposes. Cash payments are not included in the statistics. Due to data protection, exact figures are not shown.
(SDA)