Capitec, South Africa’s leading digital bank, is pleased to share transaction data for the Black Friday period, specifically covering activity on Black Friday (28 November) and Saturday (29 November) 2025, compared to the corresponding period in 2024.
Key trends and comparisons
Capitec clients demonstrated robust spending activity, with double-digit growth recorded in both transaction volumes and overall value during the Friday and Saturday period.
The scale of Black Friday remains significant for the economy. Data shows a 17% increase in spending compared to a normal month-end, translating to an additional R2.9 billion in spending on Black Friday and R1.85 billion on the Saturday.
- Transaction volumes: Total transaction volumes increased by 16%, rising to 63.4 million transactions (up from 54.7 million in 2024). In 2025 transactions peaked at 649 every second, with 326 card swipes and taps and 104 digital channel payments processed per second.
- Transaction value: The total value of transactions processed increased by roughly 14%, reaching R28.82 billion (up from R25.3 billion in 2024).
Shift to digital commerce outpaces in-store growth
While in-store activity remains the dominant contributor to total spend, the shift towards digital channels is accelerating.
Online spending: Online spending saw a strong increase of around 43%, rising to R1.6 billion (up from R1.1 billion in 2024). E-commerce platforms like Shein stood out for their transaction growth; around R35 million was spent in Shein in 2024, and this has grown to R92 million in 2025.
In-store spending: Physical store shopping grew by 11%, reaching nearly R7.7 billion (up from R6.9 billion in 2024). Shoprite remains the clear market leader for in-store Black Friday spending in both years. Superspar moved up to second place in 2025, a spot held by Pick n Pay in 2024, which dropped to fourth in 2025. Checkers also saw more Black Friday foot traffic as it claimed third place in Capitec’s 2025 spending data. This year, Boxer rounds out the top five Black Friday retailers among Capitec’s clients.
Client spending highlights
Analysis of individual client activity on Black Friday reveals some remarkable figures:
- Largest single transaction: The largest single transaction by a client was R500 000.
- Highest total spend: The highest total amount spent by a single client across all their transactions on the day was R4.3 million.
- Highest transaction counts: The highest number of transactions from a single client was 311, predominantly digital payments, that made up over R1.3 million.
Black Friday volume and value summary for 2024 and 2025
| Metric | Black Friday 2024 | Black Friday 2025 | Growth |
| Total volume | 54.7 million | 63.4 million | +16% |
| Total value | R25.3 billion | R28.82 billion | +13.9% |
Notes: The data above reflects client spending specifically for the Friday and Saturday of the Black Friday weekend. Capitec’s client base in 2024 sat at 22.8 million, and its client base in 2025 sits at over 25 million.