Shoppers in the Nordics this year spread out their purchases across the whole of Black Friday sales week, according to the latest data from Nets, a leading Nordic payment provider.

Amid continued health advice to stay at home, Nordic shoppers were also more active throughout the morning compared to 2019. Around 20 per cent of Black Friday sales came in two peaks: first at midday and again at the end of the working day, as home workers immediately looked to take advantage of the latest offers.

Nets processes around 50m transactions on peak days like Black Friday. In 2020, every other day of the “Black Fiveday” period of Monday 23 November to Friday 27 November, saw volumes only 20 per cent lower as customers spread their spending across multiple days.

Robert Hoffmann, CEO of Concardis and Nets Merchant Services, comments: “As retailers look to attract customers in this crucial pre-Christmas trading period, our data shows how sales and promotions are now being spread out across the full final week of November, rather than taking place largely on one day as it has before. Consumers have also been more active during working hours than in previous years, suggesting a greater tendency to check out the latest offers while working more flexibly from home.”

COVID-19 restrictions meant shoppers were unable to shop in-person late into the evenings, as Black Friday point-of-sale transactions dropped by over 80% after 7pm, compared to last year.

“This has been a challenging year for retailers across the globe, as consumers have experienced significant limitations on their ability to shop in-store,” continued Hoffmann. “Online transactions have seen strong growth as a result, which is why we waived fees earlier in the year for over one hundred businesses, to help them continue trading via the internet and support livelihoods during this difficult time.

“Our total transaction levels on Black Friday itself were 15% lower than 2019, as consumption was instead spread over the full week. However, the impact of the pandemic is impossible to ignore, with total transactions for the week down 2.7 % compared to last year. As countries emerge from lockdown, we expect to see a quick recovery from retailers as consumers return.”

To learn more about how Nets is supporting merchants, visit Nets.eu

* Data based on Nets Card Processing platforms in Denmark, Norway, Finland.