Essential Black Friday Statistics You Need To Know In 2024

Whether you’ve already planned your Black Friday marketing strategy, it’s never too late to review some essential Black Friday statistics. But why should you take the time to check these stats?

Data-driven insights allow you to fine-tune your marketing approach. Whether your strategy focuses on email, SMS, social media, or in-store marketing, leveraging statistics ensures you align with consumer trends and behaviors.

By understanding key data points, you can optimize campaigns for maximum conversions, adjust pricing strategies, and target the right audiences at the right time. As Jeff Weiner once said, “Data really powers everything that we do.”

So with this in mind, we collected some impressive Black Friday stats you need to know, including:

• Online shopping stats
• Retail store data
• Consumer trend insights
• Black Friday email statistics
• Spending by country
• Black Friday vs Cyber Monday

Holiday Trends for This Year

As we approach the holiday shopping season, forecasts show a significant growth in consumer spending, predicting that holiday sales in 2024 will reach an impressive $240.8 billion, marking an 8.4% year-over-year growth.

This builds on last year’s $221.1 billion, showing a steady rise in consumer spending after years of fluctuating growth rates.

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Patrick Brown, Adobe’s vice president of growth marketing and insights, anticipates a good holiday season based on early data trends. This year, a notable shift in consumer behavior indicates a preference for higher-priced items.

Compared to previous years, when shoppers looked for the best deals, consumers now seem more inclined to make larger purchases in response to substantial discounts, demonstrating greater confidence in their spending.

Adobe’s forecast shows retailers should capitalize on consumer willingness to spend more, particularly by offering attractive discounts on higher-value products.

Black Friday Online Sales Stats

Online shopping is still king, with 45% of consumers choosing eCommerce stores to purchase during Black Friday.

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Here are the most important online sales statistics to consider:

• In 2024, the total holiday spending (Nov 1st – Dec 31st) is projected to reach $240.8 billion – Adobe
• 59% of shoppers indicated that they will make a purchase from Amazon vs. a brand’s site on Black Friday. – Sitecore
• American consumers shop online because they think they’ll find better Black Friday deals. – DriveResearch
• Last year, 66% planned to shop on Black Friday, making online the dominant channel. – Sitecore

In a nutshell, as eCommerce is on the rise, businesses need to have a solid digital marketing strategy with tactics focusing on seasonal shoppers and their pain points.

Retail Store Sales Statistics

Walmart, Target, and Kohl’s were the most popular for 2023 as post-pandemic consumers started visiting more and more in-person shopping destinations:

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Here are the most prominent Black Friday statistics from the retail sphere:

• 46% of shoppers prefer buying from brick-and-mortar stores due to the unique feeling they get. – Deloitte
• Retail grew only 2% from last year, while eCommerce grew 7.75% in the third quarter of 2023. – Forbes
• 73% of consumers also go to physical stores to find special deals and get the best season offers. – Deloitte
• Retail businesses with both online and in-person stores witnessed a 64.5% in transactions. – DemandSage
• The average online discount offered by retailers is decreasing from 42% in 2029 to 38% in 2024. – Sherwood

Hence, consumers will opt for an eCommerce and in-person combo. So embrace digital retail marketing strategies like creating emails, posting on social media, and working with influencers, especially during holidays like Black Friday!

Black Friday Email Marketing Stats

The majority, if not all, of online stores, will promote their special deals through various means. The most popular is email marketing. Ecommerce businesses and online retailers send converting email campaigns to target their shoppers, giving them irresistible offers, discounts, and coupons.

Below, we’ll see some Black Friday statistics to help you out with your Black Friday email marketing strategy. Let’s see:

• Cart abandonment campaigns have a 34% open rate and a 9% click-through rate during the holiday. – Sleeknote
• Black Friday has the highest email conversion rate of the month, with regular emails having a 0.13% rate and automated ones achieving 2.5%. – Omnisend
• The best time to send a Black Friday email is early in the morning. – Constant Contact
• Personalized Black Friday emails receive a 15% higher open rate compared to non-personalized emails. – NotifyVisitors
• Email campaigns with “$ off” messages had the highest conversion rate at 14.8%. – Data Axle
• Ecommerce marketers can make seven times more the order rate with SMS compared to email campaigns. – Omnisend

Black Friday and email marketing are a combo you should leverage to boost your seasonal sales. Here are some great Black Friday email examples from popular online stores and some tips to inspire you for this Black Friday.

Also, if you need help creating your seasonal email campaigns, you can use an email tool like Moosend to craft the perfect sales messages. All you need is to sign up for an account and hop into the email editor.

Start for free

Mobile Vs. Desktop Black Friday Statistics

Mobile shopping has become more and more popular as customers are slowly turning into mobile-first users. More specifically, Adobe’s Analytics data shows that mobile revenue share will reach a record 53.2% of online purchases this year:

Here are a few Mobile vs. Desktop Black Friday statistics you need to keep in mind:

• This year, total mobile spending is estimated to reach $128.1 billion. – Adobe
• Desktop has a 5.6 % conversion rate compared to mobile devices, with a 3.3% conversion rate. – Statista
• During the pandemic years, an impressive 76% of eCommerce traffic came through smartphones. – Salesforce
• Mobile BNPL revenue share is estimated to be 74%, while the forecasted spend is likely to reach $13.7 billion. – Adobe

As you can see, mobile devices are a big player for holiday shoppers. Online stores and retailers can benefit from SMS and email marketing more than ever to increase their revenue and incentivize shoppers to purchase.

Top Black Friday Product Categories

When it comes to Black Friday shopping, each year has its top product categories. Consumers seem to favor premium items at better prices, from consoles and jewelry to Apple’s new iPhone. Below, you can see the top holiday gift picks for this year:

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Here are a few things to consider:

• Bluey toys, smartphones, Bluetooth headphones, MGS’s Miniverse, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be this holiday season’s top gift picks. – Adobe
• Amazon’s top five best-selling products during Black Friday and Cyber Monday were all technology items. – House Beautiful
• Consumers spent more on Clothes/Accessories/Shoes, Electronics, and Toys. – NielsenIQ

Black Friday Shopper Insights

Holiday spending presents very different patterns based on the age group shoppers belong to. Apart from age, other demographic criteria that can influence a purchase include your shoppers’ gender, profession, interests, and even location.

The difference between Gen Z shoppers, Gen X, Baby Boomers, and Millennials is quite evident in the following graph:

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Let’s see some Black Friday statistics about consumer spending:

• 22% said they’d use GenAI tools like ChatGPT or Bard to pick gifts. – Sitecore
• Millennials and Gen Z are among the biggest percentage of buyers who plan to shop on Black Friday. – Gwi
• The highest shopping activity is observed between 12 pm and 6 pm. – Black Friday Global
• 67% of shoppers won’t purchase without free shipping, and 84% will add more items to their cart to qualify for it. – Sitecore
• 78% want to see inventory levels, with 43% making an immediate purchase if stock is low and 26% adding it to their cart. – Sitecore
• Adults between the ages of 26-35 are the group with the highest purchasing potential. – Iowa State University
• BNPL spending is estimated to reach about $18.5 billion this season. – Adobe
• 23% of shoppers indicated that they make more impulse purchases during the holidays. – Sitecore
• 60% of consumers stated that they regretted buying certain items on Black Friday. – Finder
• Baby boomers and Generation Z favor shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. – Finder via SpendMeNot
• 55% of respondents indicated they would shop while at work on Black Friday. – Sitecore

Of course, some respondents claimed they would spend less on Black Friday. Here are some of the main reasons for that according to Drive Search:

• Rising living costs
• High inflation
• Rising costs of groceries
• High interest rates

Black Friday Global Statistics

Despite being an American holiday, other countries presented an increase in Black Friday interest.

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Sales also spike during the holiday. Compared to a regular Friday, here’s how sales grow in selected countries:

• Pakistan: 11,525%
• Hungary: 9,750%
• Italy: 4,516%
• Greece: 2,600%
• Germany: 2,106%
• USA: 2,103%
• Canada: 1,732%
• United Kingdom: 1,500%

On the other hand, Thailand, Peru, and Venezuela only have a small increase with 46%, 107% and 119% respectively.

Discount markdowns by country

Discount markdowns have a global average of 55%, with the average USA discount reaching 68% and the saving per American customer $1,094. Here are some average markdowns in selected countries:

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The highest (after the USA):

• Canada: 66%
• United Kingdom: 62%
• RSA: 61%

The lowest:

• India: 46%
• Argentina: 48%
• Mexico: 52%

Money spent by country

The following infographic shows different consumer spending habits across different regions, with North America showing higher spending tendencies compared to other parts of the world.

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Here are the three highest and three lowest amounts consumers spend during Black Friday by country:

Highest:

• USA: $515
• Canada:– $488
• United Kingdom: $399

Lowest:

• Brazil: $73
  India: $70
  Turkey: $97

Black Friday Vs. Cyber Monday Stats

Black Friday might be the biggest sales day of the year. However, Cyber Monday sales stats have shown that consumers will spend more on that day compared to Black Friday.

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• In 2023, Black Friday spending was forecasted at $9.8 billion, while Cyber Monday was expected to reach $12.4 billion.
• Moving into 2024, Black Friday spending is projected to increase to $10.8 billion, whereas Cyber Monday is forecasted to climb to $13.2 billion.

One of the key reasons Cyber Monday sales tend to outpace Black Friday is the higher demand for electronics and smartphones. Consumers often wait until Cyber Monday to snag deals on tech items, which are more commonly discounted on this day, making it a major contributor to the elevated spending.

Additionally, many online-only discounts are designed specifically for Cyber Monday, further driving its appeal to tech-savvy and deal-hunting shoppers.

Black Friday Statistics to Help You Succeed

Knowing the most important Black Friday and Cyber Monday stats will help you improve your seasonal digital marketing efforts, from your email campaigns to your social media endeavors.

As you’ve noticed, Black Friday was a holiday affected by the recent pandemic. As consumer trends change, businesses must adapt their marketing and sales strategies to respond to change more effectively.

So, whether you have an online business or a retail store, taking a moment to learn about the sales stats and trends of the previous years will work in your favor.

Now you are ready to rock this year’s Black Friday! Go!