Visa: Black Friday deals hit high street sales for November
The threat posed by online retailers is very real; if that wasn't already apparent, the effects were felt sharply during November, when the Black Friday online sales push saw high street spending take a sharp dip.
Print18 December 2018
The latest figures in Visa’s Irish Consumer Spending Index, measuring expenditure across all payment types, recorded a modest year-on-year increase (+1%) in consumer spending during November. This represents the weakest growth in just over a year, slowing from +4.0% in October.
November was also complicated by the much-talked-about Black Friday online sales push. Face-to-Face spending was down -4.3% year-on-year, the first reduction since August 2017. In contrast, the rate of growth in eCommerce spending accelerated in November. At +12.2% year-on-year, the increase in expenditure was the fastest since March 2017.
Slower increases in expenditure were also seen across the Recreation & Culture (+3.4%), Hotels, Restaurants & Bars (+4.2%) and Transport & Communication (+1.7%) categories. The only sector to see growth quicken in November was Food & Drink, where spending was up +3.0% year-on-year. This was the fastest increase since August.
Philip Konopik, Ireland Country Manager, Visa said that the “Black Friday” sales caused concern for retailers in the key early Christmas shopping season. “Retailers were left with only a short window to encourage shoppers back into their stores during the crucial festive period,” Konopik said. “However, Food & Drink spend was a highlight last month rising +3.0% year-on-year, a promising sign for grocery retailers as households look to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.”
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