Chinese businesses set for Black Friday boom

BEIJING, November 22, 2018 – Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY), a global leader in the payments technology industry, is predicting a bumper Black Friday for Chinese businesses, less than two weeks after the China Singles’ Day shopping frenzy.

New data from the payments processor reveals that the global shopping event grew by 10 percent year-over-year in China, as consumers benefit from the range of Black Friday deals and discounts on offer.

An analysis of spending data during the 2017 event revealed that more and more sectors are capitalising on the Black Friday phenomenon. While retailers, the traditional winners over the shopping weekend, saw the value of sales surge by 69 percent compared to the previous week, new sectors are also benefiting from the shopping boom. Last year, spending on flights surged by 15 percent, while video game downloads were up 32 percent on the previous week.

However Chinese Mainland’s growth is slower than its Asia-Pacific neighbours, perhaps due to consumers feeling “shopped out” following a $30.8 billion Singles’ Day shopping frenzy¹. Chinese Hong Kong led the way for Black Friday growth in the region, with eCommerce spending up by 46 percent year-over-year. Singapore also saw strong growth, with sales up by 21 percent in 2017, while spending in Australia rose by 18 percent compared to the previous year.

Due to the continued popularity of major shopping days such as Black Friday and China Singles’ Day, companies must be prepared for an increased demand in parcel deliveries, with the correct technologies in place and robots likely to be relied on more heavily. When it comes to the concept of receiving drone deliveries and making payments via autonomous technology, shoppers in Asia Pacific are some of the most confident globally, according to research released by Worldpay earlier this year – with 70 percent of consumers in China and 52 percent in Singapore comfortable with drone delivery.

The top eCommerce giants such as JD.com, Alibaba and Suning are actively engaged in the commercial experimentation on unmanned vehicles to help speed delivery and cut operational costs². For example, Alibaba has just opened the largest automated warehouse in China with over 700 robots to cope with the demand of the 11/11 shopping surge³.

Philip Shi, Country Manager for China at Worldpay said: “Although far from reaching the heights of China Singles’ Day, Black Friday is continuing to cement its position in the Chinese retail calendar, with eager shoppers on the tip of their toes ready to grab a bargain. With mCommerce growing faster than any other shopping channel in China’s burgeoning eCommerce market, Black Friday will be increasingly driven by mobile this year.

“As major shopping days continue to grow, merchants will need to experiment with new ways of innovating their supply chain capabilities to keep pace with demand. Over the coming years, the use of robots and drones will likely become commonplace, as consumers become increasingly comfortable with non-human interactions, and demand instant gratification when purchasing products. Brands that tap into the autonomous trend, and offer faster and more convenient deliveries, will be the ones that thrive in the competitive retail landscape.”

About the data
Figures quoted are according to Worldpay’s Global Enterprise eCommerce transaction data for businesses in Australia, Chinese Mainland, Chinese Hong Kong, and Singapore on Black Friday 2017 vs 2016.

The Drone Pay research was compiled in partnership with Opinium and interviewed over 20,102 consumers about their opinion on the Internet of Things and drones. Research was conducted in 10 markets – Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, the UK and USA.

About Worldpay
Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments technology company with unique capability to power global Omni-commerce. With an integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers a comprehensive suite of products and services, delivered globally through a single provider. Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions annually, supporting more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company is focused on expanding into high-growth markets and customer segments, including global eCommerce, integrated payments and B2B. Visit us at www.worldpay.com

For more information, please contact:

Emily Lahey : emily.lahey@worldpay.com - +44 203 664 5663

Robert Guan : ghibjtechteam@golinmagic.com

¹ https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/11/alibaba-singles-day-2018-record-sales-on-largest-shopping-event-day.html
² https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-jd-ecommerce-store-delivery-drones-amazon
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-07-03/china-s-on-the-fast-track-to-making-uav-drone-deliveries
https://postandparcel.info/97298/news/parcel/suning-and-baidu-apollo-unveil-microcar-autonomous-delivery-van/
³ https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/10/30/alibaba-robotic-warehouse-for-singles-day.html