Klarna, the leading global payments provider and shopping service, today released new data reporting a massive spike in US sales during the final hours of Black Friday. Between the hours of 9-11 pm PT/12-2 am ET on November 27th, sales made using the Klarna app, which allows users to shop at any online store, increased by over 2000% compared to an average shopping day in the US.
Klarna’s new data also reveals the most popular product categories among generations, indicating that US shoppers were primarily focused on electronics and marketplace purchases during Black Friday.
“US shoppers were the most active towards the end of the day on Black Friday, indicating that consumers who were working or busy during the day were still eager to take advantage of last-minute Black Friday deals,” said David Sykes, Head of US at Klarna. “Our proprietary data also indicates that shoppers were purchasing holiday gifts for their loved ones on Black Friday, taking advantage of mobile shopping and flexible payment options to shop for products in the electronics, marketplaces, and children’s categories.”
KEY FINDINGS
- Sales through the US Klarna app were up over 2000% between 9-11 pm PT/12-2 pm ET on Black Friday.
- Compared with an average shopping day during the third quarter (July-September), sales on Black Friday increased the most among Gen Z shoppers, but Millennials accounted for the biggest group of shoppers.
- The most popular shopping categories on Black Friday were electronics and marketplaces. The electronics category saw 47% growth in share of wallet across all generations on Black Friday compared to the baseline day, while the marketplaces category saw 42% growth in share of wallet across all generations on Black Friday, compared to the average baseline day.
- Children’s products’ share of wallet grew 16% across all generations on Black Friday compared to an average day during the third quarter. This growth was especially pronounced among Millennials (up 24%) and Gen Xers (up 4%), as many parents focused on buying holiday gifts for their kids.
- Food and beverage share of wallet increased by 9% on Black Friday across all generations compared with an average day, indicating consumers were eager to stock up early due to pandemic concerns. Gen Xers and Millennials shifted their spending towards this category, increasing their share of wallet on these items by 65% and 13%, respectively, compared to the average shopping day.
- Gen Zers and Gen Xers shifted their spending away from the health and beauty category, decreasing their share of wallet spent on these items by 16% and 18%, respectively, compared to the average day in the previous quarter. However, Baby Boomers increased their share of wallet spent on this category by 11%.
- Home and garden was less of a priority for shoppers across all generations during Black Friday, which registered a 27% drop in share of wallet on Black Friday compared to the average day during the third quarter.
Klarna has been analyzing share of wallet, or how its app users are dividing their spending among different shopping categories, to identify which categories consumers are shopping most often through the Klarna app. Throughout November and December, the company will continue to analyze proprietary data weekly to identify notable insights into consumer behavior during the critical 2020 holiday peak season period.
