South Africa, Nov. 30 -- The number of new shoppers introduced to e-commerce over lockdown boosted Black Friday weekend total online transaction volumes by 50%, compared to 2019. This is according to data released by online payment gateway PayFast.

The company processed a 283% increase in total payment volumes on Black Friday alone compared to a normal busy day such as payday.

"This year's Black Friday spend surpassed the volumes we've seen in previous years. The rapid adoption of e-commerce over the course of 2020 has meant that we've seen more people shopping online, especially amid fears of a Covid-19 resurgence," says Jonathan Smit, managing director and founder of PayFast.

The highest transaction for the day was R299,950 and onlin...