Highlights. American consumers spend almost $10 billion shopping online on Black Friday; with the addition of in-store spending, U.S. retail revenue exceeds $20 billion.
- 139 million Americans specifically bought holiday gifts on Black Friday 2023, and up to 166 million made a retail purchase.
- Black Friday 2023 revenue increased 7.46% year-over-year (YoY).
- The average shopper spends an estimated $480 on Black Friday.
- 90.6 million Americans shopped online on Black Friday 2023.
- Up to 83.2% of Thanksgiving Weekend shoppers make purchases on Black Friday.
| Year | Date | Projected Online Spending (in billions) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | November 29 | $10.80 |
| 2025 | November 28 | $11.68 |
| 2026 | November 27 | $12.64 |
Black Friday Online Sales Statistics
Online sales on Black Friday represent approximately 1% of spending in the holiday shopping season.
- Black Friday 2023 online revenue exceeded $9.80 billion, up 7.46% YoY.
- Online sales revenue on Black Friday exceeds the year’s average daily online sales revenue by 188%.
- Black Friday revenue from e-commerce exceeds the fourth financial quarter (Q4) daily online sales revenue by 179%.
- Black Friday 2023 online revenue fell behind Cyber Monday by 21.0%.
- From Black Friday 2022 to 2023, online retail spending increased 7.69%.
- Online retail spending decreased 4.51% from Black Friday 2021 to 2022 and increased 5.89% from 2020 to 2021.
- Supply chain issues inhibited Black Friday purchases in 2021 at a 124% higher rate compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic).
- Amazon, the largest online mass merchant, claimed as much as 17.7% of all Black Friday revenue in 2021.
| Item Category | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Toys | 33.4% | 22.4% |
| Electronics | 23.6% | 11.8% |
| Apparel | 15.4% | 15.7% |
| Computers | 17.2% | 13.6% |
| Appliances | 14.0% | 8.6% |
| Televisions | 12.9% | 12.0% |
| Sporting Goods | 7.5% | 8.4% |
*Discounts compared to average prices on October 1.
Black Friday Discount Statistics
While Black Friday traditionally offers discounts, most product categories see deeper discounts at different points in the holiday shopping season.
- Among retail product categories, the deepest Black Friday discounts are for toys; in 2022, the average toy sold at 33.4% off.
- Electronics had an average Black Friday discount of 23.6% in 2022 (more than twice as low as 2021 discounts).
- The average holiday season discounts for toys (34.1%) and electronics (23.6%) were largest on Saturday, November 26 (the day after Black Friday a.k.a. Small Business Saturday).
- Computer products were the only retail items with the deepest average discount (17.2% off) falling on Black Friday.
- Most retail categories saw deeper discounts in 2022 than in 2021, but sporting goods had Black Friday discounts that were 10.7% smaller than in 2021 (7.5% compared to 8.0%).
Black Friday Shopping Statistics
As many as half of people who buy holiday presents make purchases on Black Friday.
- 76.2 million consumers shopped in-store on Black Friday 2023, up 4.53% YoY.
- The average 2022 Black Friday shopper increased spending 4.88% YoY.
- Holiday shoppers spend 29.4% of their gift-buying dollars on Black Friday.
- The average Black Friday discount in 2023 was 24%.
- Up to 53% of all holiday shoppers buy gifts on Black Friday.
- The most popular products on Black Friday 2023 included smartwatches, PlayStation 5 consoles, cookware sets, and Squishmallows.
- 90.6 million people shopped online on Black Friday 2023 up 3.90% YoY.
- The rate at which holiday shoppers made purchases on Black Friday 2022 increased 8.16% YoY; in 2021, the purchase rate was up 14.0% YoY.
- Curbside pickup service usage on Black Friday 2021 increased 70% compared to Black Friday pre-pandemic.
Black Friday Online Shopping Statistics
Online purchases first overtook in-store transactions in 2019 as brands continue to expand in-store pick-up, delivery, and return services.
- Black Friday shoppers are 18.9% more likely to purchase online than in-store.
- 37% of online shoppers who made purchases bought a new brand for the first time.
- 46% of Black Friday shoppers made “impulse buys” (purchased a product without researching the product first).
- Health and beauty products saw the largest increase in web traffic from Black Friday 2022 to 2023 at 14.6%.
- Web traffic increased 124% on Black Friday 2022.
- In November 2021, web crawlers recorded 1.22 million searches for Nintendo Switch + Black Friday.
- Desktop shoppers are 69.7% more likely to make purchases than mobile shoppers.
- Online shoppers spent as much as 46.5% of their Black Friday retail dollars buying from Amazon.
Black Friday Mobile Shopping Statistics
Window shoppers gravitated toward mobile devices and are more likely to browse without buying compared to desktop shoppers.
- Mobile users accounted for 42.4% of e-commerce revenue.
- Up to 67% of online sales were purchased via mobile.
- Mobile online shoppers are 41.7% less likely to buy than desktop shoppers on Black Friday.
- Compared to desktop shoppers, mobile shoppers are 2.76% more likely to window shop on Black Friday.
- Mobile shoppers are 8.33% less likely to make a purchase on Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday.
Black Friday In-Store Shopping Statistics
In-store shopping rates were in decline prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brick-and-mortar stores saw much less foot traffic in 2020 than they did in 2021 and 2022.
- Black Friday shoppers are 15.9% less likely to shop in-store rather than online.
- Foot traffic in stores in 2021 increased 47.5% from the previous year.
- Compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), in-store shoppers declined 28.3%.
- From 2015 to 2019, the rate at which Black Friday shoppers planned to shop in-store declined 20.7%.
- Consumers spend 61.9% of their Black Friday dollars at brick-and-mortar locations.
- Black Friday shoppers spent a 15.7% smaller share of their total retail spending dollars in-store in 2021 than in 2020.
Black Friday Product Category Statistics
Electronics and toys are traditionally the most popular sales items, but apparel and home goods also see significant revenue on Black Friday.
- Consumer electronics sales were up 30.1% YoY on Black Friday 2023, though the number of sales orders decreased.
- First-time Black Friday shoppers were most likely to purchase apparel, with at least 9% of apparel shoppers identified as first-time buyers.
- Apparel saw the highest order volume increase on Black Friday 2023, up 24.8%.
- 52% of shoppers who purchased consumer electronics on Black Friday 2022 bought a new brand for the first time.
- Sporting goods are the most likely to be bought on impulse, with 71% of product purchases being made without research or planning.
- Shoppers are most likely to research home goods before purchasing, with just 50% of Black Friday home goods purchases made on impulse.
Holiday Season Sales Statistics
While Black Friday is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season for marketing purposes, financial and data analysis reports generally include sales data for all of November and December if not the entire fourth quarter.
- Holiday shopping (November 1 – December 31) accounts for 11.6% of annual retail sales revenue.
- Sales over the 2023 winter shopping season totaled $955.6 billion; sales totaled $920.0 billion in 2022.
- Total sales revenue includes $273.3 billion in online and non-store sales; in 2022, online and non-store sales totaled $255.8 billion.
- Among holiday sales revenue, retailers subsequently lost $148 billion to customer returns, including $24.5 billion in fraudulent returns.
- 24.3% of annual revenue lost to return fraud is from the holiday season.
- As many as 41% of holiday shoppers don’t participate in large shopping events like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
| Year | Sales Dollars (in billions) |
%Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $955.6 | 3.87% |
| 2022 | $920.0 | 4.74% |
| 2021 | $878.4 | 12.4% |
| 2020 | $781.2 | 9.00% |
| 2019 | $716.7 | 3.70% |
| 2018 | $691.1 | 1.80% |
| 2017 | $678.9 | 5.01% |
| 2016 | $646.5 | 3.01% |
| 2015 | $627.6 | 2.73% |
| 2014 | $610.9 | 4.77% |
| 2013 | $583.1 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $567.6 | 2.58% |
| 2011 | $553.3 | 4.63% |
| 2010 | $528.8 | 5.19% |
| 2009 | $502.7 | 0.24% |
| 2008 | $501.5 | -4.66% |
| 2007 | $526.0 | 2.71% |
| 2006 | $512.1 | 3.25% |
| 2005 | $496.0 | 6.16% |
| 2004 | $467.2 | 6.76% |
| 2003 | $437.6 | 5.09% |
Holiday Season Shopping Statistics
Black Friday is the busiest shopping day over the 5-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The Saturdays leading up to Christmas are also traditionally considered major shopping days.
- 200.4 million people shopped over the 5-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2023, surpassing the 2019 record by 5.70%.
- 196.7 million Thanksgiving weekend shoppers in 2022 were 3.74% more than the 2019 record.
- 60.6% of shoppers visited brick-and-mortar stores.
- Among Thanksgiving weekend shoppers, 38.0% shopped in-store on Black Friday.
- 61% of holiday shoppers begin buying gifts before Thanksgiving.
- 48% of holiday shoppers finish at least half of their shopping before Thanksgiving.
Cyber Week Statistics
“Cyber Week” usually refers to the week after Black Friday, beginning with Cyber Monday*. While more shoppers participate in Black Friday, Cyber Monday has overtaken Black Friday dollar-for-dollar since 2020.
- Mobile shoppers are 9.09% more likely to purchase on Cyber Monday than they are on Black Friday.
- The most popular products on Cyber Monday 2024 are expected to include Bluey toys, smartphones, Bluetooth headphones, MGA’s Miniverse, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
- Black Friday online shoppers outnumbered Cyber Monday shoppers by 17.5 million (23.9%) in 2023.
- In 2022, there were 10.2 million (13.2%) more online shoppers on Black Friday than on Cyber Monday.
- From 2021 to 2022, 18.4% more holiday shoppers purchased gifts on Cyber Monday.
- Cyber Monday sales totaled $12.4 billion in 2023.
- In 2023, Cyber Monday revenue exceeded Black Friday by 26.5%.
- 7% of consumers only shopped at one store over Cyber Week.
- 27% of consumers patronized 5 or more stores over Cyber Week.
- 16% of consumers shopped on a website they’d never visited before, and 9% of Cyber Week consumers visited a store they’d never shopped at before.
*This is not to be confused with “Cyber Weekend”, which is another popular term for the weekend that begins on Black Friday and ends on Cyber Monday. Some marketing uses these terms interchangeably.
| Retailer websites | 53.1% |
| Digital ads | 44.1% |
| Search engines | 34.2% |
| Physical ads & circulars | 30.6% |
| Social media | 25.2% |
| Ask family & friends | 17.1% |
| Didn’t plan to shop | 10.0% |
| Planned to shop but didn’t research deals | 9.00% |
Small Business Saturday Statistics
Also called “Super Saturday,” the Saturday following Black Friday has, since 2010, become a day devoted to patronizing small and local businesses.
- 45% of consumers who shop over Thanksgiving Weekend or Cyber Weekend shop on Small Business Saturday.
- Shoppers spent an estimated estimated $17.9 billion at small businesses on Small Business Saturday 2022.
- 85% of shoppers who participate in Small Business Saturday reportedly encourage friends and family to also Shop Small®.
- Participation in Small Business Saturday increased 15.0% from 2021 to 2022 and increased 53.8% from 2020 to 2021.
- Small Business Saturday saw 67.9% less shopper activity than Black Friday in 2022.
- Small Business Saturday saw a 15.0% decrease in terms of holiday shopper participation from 2021 to 2022.
- 32 million small and independent businesses operate nationwide.
Pre-Season Black Friday Statistics
The phenomenon of Black Friday has grown beyond a single day of American consumerism, and even beyond the holiday shopping season.
- 58% of Cyber Weekend participants shopped early Black Friday deals in 2023.
- Pre-season sales participation among Black Friday shoppers increased 28.0% from 2020 to 2021.
- In 2021, QVC launched its Black Friday in July sales event, advertising savings of up to 60% off.
- 55% of holiday shoppers make purchases during holiday sales before Thanksgiving.
- Four (4) of the 10 largest nationwide retailers begin “Black Friday” and holiday sales in October and early November.
- Among the 25 largest retailers, at least 20% began Black Friday events prior to Thanksgiving.
Black Friday Global Statistics
Black Friday has become a popular concept in other countries, such as South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK).
- UK shoppers spent £3.93 billion in brick-and-mortar stores over Black Friday weekend 2023.
- UK shoppers spend the most on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making a total of £7.50 billion in purchases in 2020.
- German shoppers spend the second-most on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making £5.93 billion in purchases in 2020.
- Shoppers in Spain are more likely than most to “window shop” online; mobile users have an 88.4% shopping cart abandonment rate.
- UK shoppers are more likely to complete purchases; tablet users have a 62.1% cart abandonment rate.
- The global online shopping cart abandonment rate on Black Friday is between 73% and 78%.
- 12.9% of online Black Friday searches come from IP addresses in Germany.
- 11.0% of online Black Friday searches come from Brazilian IP addresses, and 10.3% are from the UK.
- Spain, Canada, France, and the Netherlands all account for a combined 19.2%.
Black Friday Employment Statistics
Retailers hire more employees in anticipation of the holiday season, and most new employees begin in time for Black Friday.
- 10.7% of JC Penney’s 28,000 seasonal employees in 2021 worked exclusively in supply-chain and distribution centers.
- Macy’s hired 71,000 seasonal workers in 2021, with an estimated 32% employed in distribution centers.
- 43.8% of retailers advertise more staff positions to handle merchandise returns alone.
- Among these retailers, 4.2% aim to hire “significantly more” staff to handle returns.
- 20% of all holiday season retail hires in 2021 were 15- to 19-year-olds.
- Holiday employment among teenagers increased 122.2% from 2019.
- Employers added an estimated 477,000 seasonal retail positions in 2021.
| Year | Estimated Seasonal Employees | Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 418,400 | 12.2% |
| 2022 | 365,6000 | -15.8% |
| 2021 | 477,000 | -5.94% |
| 2020 | 507,100 | 1.60% |
| 2019 | 499,100 | 2.23% |
| 2018 | 488,200 | 0.45% |
| 2017 | 486,000 | -1.78% |
| 2016 | 494,800 | -5.70% |
Black Friday Consumer Behavior & Statistics
Most Black Friday shoppers begin shopping before 10 a.m. While many Black Friday shoppers are repeat participants, shoppers are more likely to try out new brands for the first time.
- 42% of shoppers plan to start their Black Friday shopping between midnight and 6 a.m.
- 48% of shoppers plan to start Black Friday shopping between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.
- 30% of people who shopped Black Friday through Cyber Monday planned ahead for a few weeks or more.
- 10% of shoppers didn’t plan on shopping at all.
- 53% of Black Friday shoppers are first-time buyers.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- National Retail Federation (NRF)
- CNBC, Black Friday Shopping in Stores Drops 28%
- Adobe Experience Cloud, Resources
- Statista, Black Friday Worldwide: Statistics and Overview
- U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Reports
- USA Today, The QVC Black Friday Sale Has Huge Savings on Nintendo, Ninja, and Cricut
- CNBC, Black Friday came early this year, signaling worries about holiday demand
- BlueCore, Retail Marketing Insights Report: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Retail Dive, Holiday Rewind: How The Shopping Experience Changed in 2021
- AARP, 10 Great Reasons to Avoid Stores on Black Friday 2021
- USA Today, Stores Struggling to Hire Adults
- Reuters, ‘Black Friday’ Drags Through November Amid Tight Inventories
- US Small Business Administration, Small Business Saturday
- Numerator, Cyber Weekend Recap
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Deloitte Insights, 2021 Deloitte Holiday Retail Survey