Black Friday Statistics You Need for Your Ecommerce Store

According to survey responses from 5,000 US consumers, Adobe forecasts the highest spend yet:

• The average American shopper spent $313 on Black Friday 2023 (Wiser Notify).

• In 2024, Black Friday sales are expected to hit $10.8 billion in America alone (Adobe).

Traditionally, retail discounts are offered on Black Friday. However, the data shows the days afterwards can be even more popular in America:

• Online sales for Cyber Week (11/28/24 to 12/02/24) are expected to reach $40.6 billion, which is 7% higher than last year (Adobe)

• Cyber Monday is expected to be a bigger shopping day for US consumers than Black Friday, with a predicted spend of $13.2 billion (Adobe)

• The average Cyber week discount rate was 29% in the US (Salesforce)

Online sales have been steadily increasing over the past decade, which has led to more brick and mortar stores moving online.

• Black Friday 2023 saw a record breaking $70.9 billion in online sales globally (Sender)

AI can help create a personalized shopping experience for online customers, offering targeted offers and customized recommendations, for example. AI chat bots are also a great way to streamline processes, especially during times of high website traffic.

• In 2023, $51 billion of online sales were influenced by AI (Salesforce)

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has become an extremely popular financing option for online Black Friday shoppers, so it’s a good idea to offer it at checkout:

• Buyers spent $16.6 billion using Buy Now, Pay Later in 2023. This is expected to rise to $18.5 billion this holiday season. (Demand Sage)

Not only is ecommerce now favored by Black Friday shoppers, but we’re also seeing on-the-go sales becoming increasingly popular throughout Cyber Week:

• Mobile phones accounted for 54% of online Black Friday sales and 59% of online Cyber Monday sales in the US in 2023 (Adobe)
• 79% of global Cyber Week ecommerce sales came from mobile phones in 2023 (Salesforce)

In the past, most online Black Friday shopping has been carried out on desktop, but Adobe’s research indicates mobile devices will be the most popular devices among digital buyers in 2024:

• Black Friday shopping on mobile devices is expected to reach a new high this year, contributing $128 billion and growing by 12.8% from 2023 (Adobe)

Unlike during the rest of the year, the majority of Black Friday shoppers browse with an open mind, which makes it the perfect time to discover new brands:

• 74% of shoppers begin their Black Friday shopping journey without a specific item in mind (Mabo)

Consumers are confronted with Black Friday discounts on every platform, so personalization can help offer guidance that leads to sales:

• In 2022, personalized email campaigns achieved, on average, a 30.32% higher open rate and a 49.66% higher click rate than non-personalized campaigns.
• 80% of consumers say they value personalized recommendations from brands (Sinch 2024)

NIQ’s findings indicate that Black Friday is an elongated period rather than a single day. Shopping spikes throughout the month, so it’s important to extend your Black Friday deals throughout this period:

• 32% of shoppers surveyed began shopping before Black Friday, taking advantage of early deals (NIQ)

Furthermore, according to Sinch’s survey, shoppers prefer to have notice about upcoming deals before making a decision. In fact, just 3% of the consumers they asked were happy to hear about deals the day before:

• 35% of consumers surveyed said they would prefer to hear about Black Friday deals one month before they go live, 24% said two weeks before, and 22% said more than one month before (Sinch 2024)

Clothing, electronics, and — with Christmas around the corner — children’s toys consistently account for a high proportion of Cyber Week sales year on year:

• In 2023, clothing was the most popular sector for women, equating to 83% of their sales. For men, it was electronics, which made up 78% of their purchases (Statistica)
• Toys made up 31% of gift purchases over Thanksgiving weekend in 2023 (NRF)
• KidKraft Playsets were the most popular products in the US in the 2023 Holiday season (Adobe Analytica)

Further Reading

Inspired by these Black Friday Statistics? Why not take a look at our top holiday marketing campaigns that you can try throughout the holiday shopping season?

Optimizing your ecommerce store for Black Friday can help to boost your sales. Here are some tips you should implement ahead of Black Friday 2024:

• Improve your site’s performance. When your site gets visitors, you won’t want factors like your website’s load time to discourage them from purchasing. You should also ensure your website is mobile-friendly and fully responsive to make the shopping experience as smooth as possible for every type of buyer.
• Stand out from your competition. Offering free shipping and competitive deals will encourage customers to choose you. Carry out competitor research to find out what will give you the edge.
• Promote your Black Friday deals early and often. Around three to four weeks prior, start to build awareness and anticipation for your sales on key marketing channels like email, social media, and paid search.
• Make it easy for customers to find the products they’re looking for. Optimize your product listings and descriptions for keywords and ensure your website’s search functions are up to scratch.
• Plan for increased demand. Refining your shipping strategy, returns management, and online customer service will help to keep your customers satisfied during this period of increased demand.

…and breathe!

We know that was a lot of Black Friday stats and numbers to get through but considering how huge Black Friday (and Cyber Week, Cyber Monday, and Cyber Weekend for that matter) has become in recent years, these Black Friday statistics offer valuable insight for ecommerce brands.

Understanding how customers shopped last year and how they’re predicted to shop this year is key if you want to target them with the right deals at the right time, boosting your conversions and those all-important product margins.

Are you planning any Black Friday deals? Let us know in the comments below!

Don’t forget you can shop for some deals yourself which is why we’ve put together these guides to the best Black Friday deals that we’ll be updating right up until the big day!