The results are in for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Square and Afterpay sellers reveal a record-breaking weekend as consumers across the world kick off the holiday shopping season. Sellers are seeing success with omnichannel sales strategies, setting the tone for what’s to be a bright holiday season for consumers and businesses alike.
70M
Total sales transactions made by Square and Afterpay sellers
14%
Growth in sales transactions made through Square and Afterpay sellers year over year
9%
Growth of Square and Afterpay sellers who took transactions both online and in person year over year
2:09PM
on November 24 (EST) was the peak minute of shopping across the globe. In 2022, this was Monday, November 28 at 11:15am.
Cities with the largest volume of sales and peak minute of shopping:
New York, NY
Saturday, November 25, 2:45pm
Los Angeles, CA
Friday, November 24, 10:01pm
London, UK
Saturday, November 25, 2:55pm
Chicago, IL
Saturday, November 25, 7:55pm
Miami, FL
Saturday, November 25, 4:52pm
Houston, TX
Sunday, November 26, 9:19pm
Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, November 25, 6:56pm
Austin, TX
Friday, November 24, 4:09pm
Businesses saw an increase of in-person shopping as consumers turned the weekend shopping event into an outing with friends and family.
15%
Growth of in-person shopping year over year
3.9x
Online cart sizes were 3.9x larger than in-person cart sizes
338K
Number of physical and e-gift cards purchased
Top industries for gift card purchases:
1. Food and Beverage
2. Retail
3. Beauty and Personal Care
4. Health Care and Fitness
Given Square and Afterpay’s Festive Forecast report found that 71% of Americans will shop for cheaper alternatives to maximize savings, businesses understood this sentiment and tapped into a number of different sales strategies to attract new and existing customers.
22%
Average discount offered
35%
Growth in businesses offering discounts year over year
1.2x
How much larger purchases with a preorder were versus the average order through Square Online
31%
Growth in subscriptions activated year over year
While traditional retailers tend to get heaped with holiday shopping attention, restaurants and beauty sellers also see an influx of shoppers looking to celebrate. Square data found that businesses across industries tap into the holiday season to grow sales.
15%
Growth in restaurant transactions over Black Friday and Cyber Monday year over year
23%
Growth in restaurants offering Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday discounts year over year
108%
Growth in beauty sellers offering Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday discounts year over year
12/20-12/23
The most popular time for beauty appointments during the holidays¹
Consumers gravitated toward buy-now, pay-later methods like Afterpay during the gift-giving period, seeking flexible payment options.
19%
Increase in buy-now, pay-later purchases through Afterpay year over year
47%
Growth in Afterpay transactions at Square sellers year over year
5 largest Afterpay item categories outside of fashion and beauty:
1. Hardware
2. Home and Garden
3. Arts and Entertainment
4. Office Supplies
5. Electronics
16%
Growth in Afterpay app usage year over year
Methodology
All data presented are unaudited and subject to adjustment.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Square and Afterpay analyzed millions of transactions across all seller industries globally in 2023 from November 23, 11:00 UTC to November 27, 23:59 UTC. All monetary metrics are displayed in USD.
¹Based on 2022 results.