Online Black Friday purchases break Dutch record, says payment processor

Black Friday has led to a record number of online sales in the Netherlands despite inflation, Swedish payment service provider Klarna reports. Retailers benefitted as consumers made their move not only on Friday, but also over the course of the entire week.

On Black Friday itself, sales were 28 percent higher and marked the most popular shopping day of the year on an annual basis. According to Klarna, there was already a spike in sales at the start of “Black Week,” on the Monday before the Black Friday shopping spree. At this time, webshops sold 40 percent more compared to last year.

Director of Klarna Netherlands Wilko Klaassen said, "We had to wait and see how this week would go this year, because many consumers have been hit by price inflation in recent months and have therefore had to adjust their spending habits."

The most popular product categories this year were electronics, health and beauty, as well as jewelry and accessories. Klarna also saw in its analysis that people from Noord-Holland, Flevoland and Utrecht in particular were after Black Friday sales, compared to the national average. Residents of Drenthe and Friesland actually bought less during Black Friday.

"Based on the figures, we now observe that many consumers see this period of discounts as an opportunity to buy price-conscious and cheaper gifts for the holidays or to make a large purchase at a significant discount," Klaassen adds.

Credit card issuer ICS also saw an increase in the number of transactions, both during the week and on Black Friday itself. It is remarkable that consumers bought less from Dutch webshops compared to last year. Web shops from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany in particular proved to be popular.

The total amount for which people made purchases with their credit card increased by 30 percent year-on-year. This is partly due to the high inflation. According to ICS, consumers mainly bought toys and hobby items, followed by shoes and clothing.