Mobile dominates as Black Friday off to good start

UK online transactions were up by 78% before 7am today compared to last year, according to research by Loqate. Between 6-7am, transactions increased by 60% on the hour before.

For the first year ever, smartphones alone accounted for more than half of the online shopping activity (56%), pointing to a younger demographic partaking in Black Friday combined with a rise in personalised mobile offers from retailers. This is a reverse on 2017 when desktop dominated, laying claim to almost half of all purchases.

“This is the year that mobile really takes over online retail. As Black Friday kicks off with a very early start, success for retailers is becoming increasingly tied with their mobile offer. Consumers are voting with fingers and thumbs,” says Matthew Furneaux, Global Commercial Director at Loqate, which processes transactions for more than 13,000 online retailers, including Boots, Asos, Halfords and Missguided.

“Making it easy for customers to buy on mobile will be the key determinant not just for a good Black Friday, but for a good Christmas and even medium-term survival.”

UPDATE:

Online transactions rose by 55% between midnight and 10am on Black Friday, compared with last year.

Latest figures from Loqate point to continued stellar growth for the event, despite fears around false deals and spending fatigue.
Spending continues to accelerate, with more transactions conducted between 9am and 10am than in the hours before work.
Online shopping picked up in earnest from 5am onwards; online transactions grew 45% faster than last year, which is slightly lower than the annual increase of 50% seen from 2016 to 2017.
Spending on mobile continues to dominate as a device of choice across all purchases. However, desktop spending peaked between 9am and 10am.