#USA #Black Friday #New York #Cyber Monday #Adyen

Adyen's Remarkable Achievement in Global Payments

This year, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend marked a historic moment for retail, driven by an unprecedented surge in consumer activity. Adyen, a leading global payments platform, reported an astounding total of $43 billion processed during this shopping frenzy, representing a remarkable 27% increase compared to the previous year. The platform boasted an exceptional uptime of 99.9999%, demonstrating its reliability in handling peak transaction volumes.

On Black Friday alone, Adyen handled a staggering 199,000 transactions per minute, a testament to the platform's robust infrastructure and capability to support the surge in demand. Such figures underline the importance and scale of BFCM in the retail calendar, proving to be a vital indicator for businesses aiming to capitalize on this sales opportunity.

Consumer Payment Trends

Consumer behavior has evolved significantly, and flexibility at the point of sale is now a necessity rather than a luxury. A survey revealed that 54% of global consumers would abandon a purchase if their preferred payment method was unavailable. The data highlights three key payment trends observed during this year’s BFCM:

1. Rise of Mobile Wallets: Digital wallets have increasingly become a preferred payment method at the point of sale (POS). During Black Friday, the share of POS sales made via digital wallets climbed from 21% the previous year to 33%, with projections indicating further growth.
2. Contactless Payments Become the Norm: Contactless transactions have seen significant adoption globally. Last year, 81% of POS transactions were contactless; this year, that number rose to 85%, affirming its position as the standard for transactions.
3. Importance of Local Payment Methods: Local payment options remain vital, with their share stable at 14-15% across all channels, emphasizing the necessity for merchants to integrate region-specific options like Carte Bancaire, iDeal, and PayPal.

Additionally, the usage of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options surged by 43% compared to the previous month, highlighting consumers’ preference for flexible payment solutions during major shopping events.

In-Store Shopping Insights

Physical retail continues to dominate for high-value purchases during the holiday season. In 2025, the average transaction value (ATV) for in-store purchases on Black Friday was 28% higher than online purchases. Overall, the ATV for in-store retail on Black Friday rose by 22% compared to a regular Friday.

The global spread of Black Friday has witnessed a remarkable increase in transactions across various international markets compared to a typical Friday. Notable increases were seen in countries like:

• - Denmark: 6.11 times
• - Spain: 4.47 times
• - Norway: 3.53 times

This demonstrates the growing importance of BFCM beyond its American roots, with international markets rapidly embracing this shopping phenomenon.

Key Shopping Times

While the tail end of BFCM weekend is characterized by intense shopping activity, peak shopping times vary greatly across regions. In the USA, peak online activity occurred on Black Friday at 12 PM. In contrast, France witnessed its peak on Sunday at 8 PM. Other notable peak shopping times included:

• - Sweden: Black Friday at 5 PM
• - Germany: Black Friday at 9 PM
• - Australia: Main shopping times shifted to Saturday at 12 PM

Such timing reflects consumer habits and preferences, which have remained consistent year-over-year.

Returns on Black Friday

Despite the eagerness to shop, consumers were also inclined to return products, with the average return rate for online purchases spiking to 11.32% on Black Friday, up from 8.33% last year. This highlights the complexities retailers face during high-volume shopping periods, where managing returns becomes as crucial as driving sales.

Conclusion

Adyen (ADYENAMS) stands out as the fintech solution of choice for many leading companies, thanks to its integration of end-to-end payment solutions and data-driven insights. Collaborating with industry giants like Meta, Uber, and Microsoft, Adyen continues to shape the future of global payments, especially during crucial shopping periods like BFCM.

This analysis utilized extensive data comparing the transaction metrics processed via the Adyen platform from BFCM 2024 and 2025. The insights shed light on how critical the BFCM weekend is for retailers and the ongoing evolution of consumer payment preferences across various markets.