Spending online on Black Friday 2023 was 29% higher than Cyber Monday.

The busiest hour of the day was between 10am and 11am with 57,000 transactions recorded as some people logged on for bargains while at work.

AIB customers also spent around €80m in shops which was only a slight increase, up 1%, on the previous year.

AIB said Black Friday 2023 “broke all records for online spend” by the bank’s customers.

It is expecting this Black Friday to be one of the busiest days ever for online spending by Irish shoppers.

Clothing was the most popular category among Black Friday shoppers. AIB customers spent €15m, with 61% of it online.

The data showed that Longford saw the largest increase in spending year-on-year, up 23%, followed by Roscommon, up 19%, and Sligo, up 18%.

People in Dublin, Wicklow, and Roscommon were the biggest spenders per transaction, at €107, €104, and €104, respectively.

Overall, women outspent men last year, 52% to 48%. AIB’s female customers spent an average of €590 per second while male customers spent €548 per second.

'This year no different'

AIB head of consumer Adrian Moynihan said all “indications are that this year will be no different” as shoppers seek value ahead of Christmas.

“For those of us who will be buying online this Black Friday, we are urging people to be fraud aware as the number of scams will be on the rise at this time of year,” said Mr Moynihan. 

“Remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

AIB is advising customers to be cautious around bargains, be sure to check authenticity, ensure websites are secure and genuine, and beware of texts or calls pretending to be from a bank, delivery or courier company, or utility provider, as they may be scammers.

“When buying something online from an individual, make sure the goods exist and never transfer money directly to a seller’s account without checking they are genuine first,” said AIB.

Data for the AIB Spend Trend report was compiled from over 979,000 card transactions by AIB customers during Black Friday last year. The data was anonymised and aggregated.