Transaction volumes rose by 9.8% on Black Friday and 10.6% on Cyber Monday YoY, according to Accertify’s 2021 Holiday Tracker.
But huge increases were seen in travel — 108.6% on Black Friday and 109.9% on Cyber Monday — and in entertainment, which rose by 598.9% on Friday and 647.7% on Monday.
These hikes may reflect a desire by consumers to enjoy themselves after being cooped up during the pandemic. If so, it is not yet clear what impact the Omicron variant may have going forward.
Still, travel was down by 1.09% on Cyber Monday compared to 2019. And entertainment was down on that day by 3.1%.
Retail was flat compared to 2020, going up by 2.1% on Black Friday and 2.5% on Cyber Monday.
“While a rising tide lifts all boats, not everyone felt the impact equally,” the study notes.
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Still, retail rose by 8.5% over 2019 on Black Friday, and by 9.9% on Cyber Monday.
The study also notes that while it measured transaction volumes and not spend, “large, diversified retailers had increased volumes and increased basket sizes as compared to 2020.”
Presumably, many of those transactions did not result in immediate sales, requiring email teams to push them forward.
Accertify, an American Express company that provides fraud and chargeback solutions, tracked client activity.