Study: Black Friday Restaurant Gift Card Sales Rise

Paytronix Systems, Inc. examined Black Friday Restaurant Gift Card Sales and found that while Friday sales increased 9.73 percent from 2018 to 2019, sales for the whole weekend only increased about 4 percent. Given that the 2019 holiday season is shorter than last year, brands will need strong gift card promotions throughout December to optimize their overall sales. November and December purchases typically account for upwards of 50 percent of annual gift cards sales.

The Paytronix analysis included anonymous tracking of aggregate gift card sales for nearly 200 brands, from Friday, November 29, through Sunday, December 1, 2019. Paytronix identified the following changes in 2019 gift card sales when compared to those for 2018:

Black Friday sales increased 9.73 percent
Saturday sales decreased by 14.1 percent
Sunday sales were up 22.8 percent
Overall sales increased 3.96 percent year over year for Black Friday through Sunday

“While Black Friday offers us a great opportunity to examine a point in time, it doesn’t provide a deep insight into how sales will progress during the holiday season,” says Michelle Tempesta, head of marketing for Paytronix Systems. “What matters more is the number of days within the season for sales, which means every day counts, whether that day is Black Friday, Christmas Eve or just another day in December. Brands will need to work hard with promotions to ensure they get the most out of the season.”

Gift card sales are a much greater portion of revenue during the holidays than during the rest of the year. While gift cards account for 6.3 percent of brand sales between January and October, that number more than doubles to 15 percent during November and December.

This Black Friday gift card sales analysis is the first stage of a full Paytronix Holiday Gift Card Report that will publish after the holiday shopping season concludes. This research supplements the Paytronix Annual Gift Card Sales Report: 2019, which surveyed 220 brands and found consistent 10 percent year-over-year growth in gift card sales over 2018. Paytronix offers an in-depth look into holiday gift card sales, sales by channel and service type, anticipated redemption and new insights on eGift cards. With the online ordering industry expanding, the Report also examines the impact of gift cards redeemed online.

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