2023-11-28 09:14:17 ET
Consumers took advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, as millions of Square ( NYSE: SQ ) and Afterpay sellers across the world, set a new record with 70M transactions, up 14% from last year.
The consumers continued to show diverse shopping habits as in-person shopping rose 15%, while online cart sizes were 3.9X higher than in-person.
The record s pending was expected , as shoppers hunted for the best deals online and offline amid deep discounts and flexible payment options.
The frenzy of the weekend went beyond traditional retail, as per SQ data, restaurants saw 15% increase in its transactions, while 23% more restaurants sent Black Friday/ and/or Cyber Monday discounts to promote their business.
The data from SQ also saw a 108% rise in beauty and wellness sellers, who hopped onto sending discounts for Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday.
SQ also added activated subscriptions grew 31% and pre-orders for hot-ticket items leading to transactions being 1.2X higher than the average Square online order, as consumer opted for convenience and options.
Cities with the largest volume of sales were New York, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Miami.
The demand for flexible payment options, especially for Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) rose, as transactions through Afterpay increased 19%, and SQ sellers saw their Afterpay transactions grow 47%.
Outside of fashion and beauty, were hardware, home and garden, arts and entertainment, office supplies, and electronics, were the largest Aterpay item categories.
"Given consumer sentiment has been positive around the holidays, and we know this weekend is often just the beginning, businesses should continue to expect an influx of shoppers, and be ready to meet them wherever they prefer to shop,” said Saumil Mehta, Head of Point of Sale and Omnichannel at Square.
On Monday, an Adobe Analytics data showed that Black Friday online shoppers in the U.S. spent a record $9.8B, up 7.5% from a year ago, a bright spot for retailers that are expecting muted sales this holiday season.
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Square and Afterpay sellers witness record Black Friday and Cyber Monday