Irish online shoppers to spend €98 million as Black Friday kicks off the first major weekend of Christmas shopping

Dublin, 26 November 2015: Visa Europe has predicted that €98 million will be spent online with Visa cards – Debit, Credit and Prepaid – between Black Friday (27^th Nov) and Cyber Monday (30^th Nov) – making it the biggest weekend for Irish online shopping in history. This represents an 18% increase on the €83 million spent by Irish consumers last year. Black Friday will start the spike in spending with €31 million expected to be spent online on the day, before peaking on Cyber Monday when €33 million in online purchases will be made.

Visa bases its predictions on up to the minute spending data and previous years’ Christmas spending trends. €1 in every €3 in Ireland is spent on a Visa card, making this data the most reliable indicator of trends in consumer spending.

Irish retailers will also benefit from the spending with in-store payment with Visa cards – Debit, Credit and Prepaid – expected to rise to €97 million on Black Friday, an increase of 10% on consumer expenditure on the same day in 2014. The combined online and retail spend on 27^th November by Irish consumers with Visa cards will be €128 million.

A breakdown of the Black Friday (27^th November) spending figures (in-store and eCommerce) are outlined below:

Black Friday 27th Nov	Spend 2015 (forecast)	Spend 2014 (actual)	% change (spend)	Transactions 2015 (forecast)	Transactions 2014 (actual)	% change (transactions)
In-store	€97 million	€88 million	10%	1.86 million	1.62 million	15%
eComm	€31 million	€26 million	19%	391,000	340,000	15%
Total	€128 million	€114 million	12%	2.25 million	1.96 million	15%

A breakdown of the Cyber Monday (30^th November) spending figures (in-store and eCommerce) are outlined below:

Cyber Monday 30th Nov	Spend 2015 (forecast)	Spend 2014 (actual)	% change (spend)	Transactions 2015 (forecast)	Transactions 2014 (actual)	% change (transactions)
eComm	€33 million	€28 million	18%	396,000	345,000	15%

Black Friday is the start of one of the busiest periods of consumer spending during the year. While Cyber Monday – 30^th November – will be the busiest online shopping day of the year, in-store spending is not expected to peak until just prior to Christmas day.

Commenting on the data, Conor Langford, Ireland Country Manager, Visa Europe, said:

“This is shaping up to be a huge weekend, online and in-store, for Irish retailers. We’re looking at a potential combined €128 million being spent on Black Friday alone as retailers discount across all their channels. We expect that this positive momentum for the retail sector will continue in December in the countdown to Christmas.”

“Online shopping continues to explode in popularity in Ireland, with Irish Visa cardholders expected to spend €22,916 online every minute during the course of Cyber Monday. The spike in spending will be driven by Irish consumers placing online orders in a bid to ensure their gifts arrive before Christmas.”

“The forecasted €33 million spent online on Monday will represent a new record by Irish consumers. The rising popularity of online shopping can be attributed to consumers making more purchases on the go with devices like smartphones, as well as increased confidence due to the security features and protection associated with Visa cards. We are also helping more Irish companies to take advantage of the possibilities that eCommerce presents by making sure that online spending is safe and convenient.”