Black Friday shopping statistics can tell us a lot about the biggest shopping event of the year. If you’re in marketing or fulfillment, it’s one of the busiest periods there is.
Given how much consumers worldwide have been spending each Black Friday for the last few years, it’s no surprise retailers are gearing up for the occasion. Although Black Friday used to be a US-only phenomenon, it’s picking up momentum in other countries, including the UK, Spain, and other European nations.
So, what do you need to know for Black Friday in 2023? What have different demographics been shopping for on the day in the last few years? And how much of that shopping was done online?
In this guide, we’ll take you through the key trends for Black Friday in 2023, elaborate on shopping statistics and trends by region and demographic, and explore common shopping behaviors. Let’s dive in.
Top Black Friday Trends for 2023
First of all, let’s take a close look at this year’s top Black Friday trends.
Early Access / Early Bird
Source: Statista
This year, early access campaigns are all in for Black Friday, according to a study by Litmus. For a lot of consumers, starting Christmas shopping early and budgeting are priorities due to higher living costs. Having early bird deals to take advantage of enables consumers to save right away.
In 2021, the trend was similar – many consumers around the world were shopping for Black Friday deals as early as the start of October. Retailers should, therefore, strike a balance between launching a deal too early in the quarter and launching it too late after buyers have already chosen another retailer.
Sustainability & Anti-Black Friday Campaigns
There’s an increasing consumer emphasis on sustainability, which we highlighted in our Christmas gift trends guide, but Black Friday wouldn’t seem to mesh well with this. However, some brands, such as Patagonia, are capitalizing on this trend by running anti-Black Friday campaigns.
These campaigns try to turn Black Friday on its head by making it about helping others and being sustainable rather than excessive consumerism.
For instance, the British brand Finisterre ran a campaign called “Blue Friday” in 2021, which saw them donate proceeds from each Black Friday weekend sale to a foundation removing barriers to accessing the ocean.
Shopbox AI also identifies sustainability and giving back as trends that will continue this year, and more consumers will expect this to be reflected by brands.
Mobile & Social Commerce
Source: Statista
In this guide, we’ll explore how prevalent mobile Black Friday shopping has been in the last few years. Given this, retailers are expected to embrace mobile optimization this season, according to Litmus.
Since most social media applications are accessed via mobile devices, it follows that integrating social media shopping and influencers into your offering will drive more browsers to mobile-optimized retail sites, increasing Black Friday outreach and sales.
Last year, over 50% of Polish retailers embraced social media in their Black Friday campaigns, and we expect that the trend will continue around the world in 2023. This is supported by an Adobe study, which forecasts that over 51% of all spending this Black Friday will be done on mobile devices.
Originally an American event, Black Friday has gained momentum worldwide in recent years, with millions of consumers spending a lot of money that weekend.
How do regional Black Friday shopping trends vary? Find out below.
North America
Source: Mastercard SpendingPulse
With the US being the birthplace of Black Friday, it’s no surprise that it’s hugely popular there. For instance, in 2022, average sales on Black Friday in the US were 663% higher than sales on regular days. That year, US offline retail sales were up 10.9% YoY, and ecommerce sales up 12.5% YoY.
According to a 2022 study by Future Advertising, inflation was a significant concern that year for the majority of Americans and was an important reason why over 60% were looking forward to Black Friday deals.
In addition, 43% of US consumers said they used Black Friday to shop for gifts for their loved ones, and over 20% shopped for new tech and premium foods.
UK
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British consumers aren’t immune to the power of Black Friday, either, and spent almost £9 billion in 2021 on event-related shopping.
However, due to the cost-of-living crisis and the increase in budgeting, the UK’s 2022 Black Friday spending was lower by almost £500 million, though offline sales were higher than the previous year.
Some UK consumers don’t plan on doing any Black Friday shopping at all, however. Of these, 35% are convinced that the deals aren’t what they used to be, and 25% said they weren’t buying as many gifts that year.
In 2022, over 70% of British consumers chose to shop on Black Friday as they believed it offered the best deals. Some 40% saw Black Friday shopping as a good way to track spending.
Europe
Source: Statista
Despite the fact that Black Friday originated in the US, most European consumers are aware of it. In fact, the only European country where awareness is below 100% is Spain, where it’s 99%.
Funnily enough, in 2022, Spain and Ireland were the countries where consumers were most likely to make use of Black Friday discounts – 56% and 52% of consumers, respectively. The US was in third place, with 48% of consumers.
As in the US and the UK, many consumers in Europe chose to capitalize on Black Friday deals due to inflation and a reduction in spending power. For instance, almost 75% of Germans admitted they used Black Friday to find cheaper gifts, and 56% said they relied on Black Friday to save money.
Australia
Source: Statista
In 2023, over 75% of Aussie consumers are planning to buy at least one item during the Black Friday sales. More than 57% of these consumers only plan to shop online, 22% plan to shop both online and in-store, and 20% only in-store.
The main intent behind the majority of Australians’ Black Friday shopping seems to be getting the best deals on gifts. A little over 40% of Aussie consumers believe that Black Friday shopping will help them avoid the Christmas rush.
How do people shop during Black Friday?
Traditionally, when we think of Black Friday, we picture huge 4 a.m. lines outside American stores the day after Thanksgiving. However, it’s evolved since then, thanks to the explosive growth of ecommerce.
So, does that mean people don’t shop in brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday anymore? Let’s find out.
Online Black Friday Shopping
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The prevalence of ecommerce has made Black Friday shopping more convenient than ever, as it allows people to avoid crowds and keep better track of what they’re buying – and the lion’s share of Black Friday shopping takes place online.
A report by Salesforce noted that 2022 saw the largest online Black Friday sales of all time, amounting to $281 billion – 2% higher than the year before.
A 2022 study by Shopify found that almost three-quarters of all Black Friday purchases were made on mobile devices, with 10% of those being referred to via social media. This shows the increasing importance of mobile commerce for consumers and retailers, highlighting the importance of mobile optimization.
Offline Black Friday Shopping
Source: Statista
Despite the popularity and convenience of online shopping, offline retailers remain very popular for Black Friday sales. Although only 25% of American consumers preferred to do their Black Friday shopping offline in 2022, the figures were much higher for European countries.
For instance, almost 40% of Austrian and 33% of French consumers preferred traditional shopping to ecommerce. Outside of Europe and the US, 27% of Australian and 33% of New Zealand consumers intended to engage in offline Black Friday shopping.
How do different target audiences shop on Black Friday? The answer is important for marketers to guide their campaigns and targeting. Here’s our overview of Black Friday shopping statistics by demographics.
Generational Black Friday Statistics
Source: Finder
The majority of Gen Z and Millennials engaged in Black Friday shopping in 2022. On the other hand, over 60% of baby boomers and 55% of Gen X didn’t shop in the sales, however.
In line with the projected popularity of mobile commerce, Adobe predicts that individuals across generations will be shopping on mobile this Black Friday – 57% of Zoomers, 66% of Millennials, and 53% of Gen X buyers have expressed a preference for mobile shopping.
In the UK, Generation Z tends to shop the most for others on Black Friday, with over 80% of consumers in this category doing so in 2021. Only 50% of Baby Boomers who shopped on Black Friday did so for other people.
Black Friday Shopping by Gender
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Both women and men shop a lot on Black Friday. However, they don’t always buy the same things.
For instance, women tended to spend more on clothing, toys, and health and beauty items on Black Friday in 2022 than men, and men spent more on gadgets and sports goods. We’ll talk more about these popular items in the next section.
In terms of spending on Black Friday by gender, men tend to spend more than women. For instance, in the UK, the average Black Friday spend for a man in 2022 was £205, whereas an average woman spent £174.
Black Friday’s Most Popular Items
Source: Moosend
Clothes were the most popular Black Friday item in the US in 2022. However, plenty of other items saw increasing popularity – let’s take a closer look.
Gadgets & Electronics
Source: Statista
In 2021, the Nintendo Switch console was the most popular product searched for on Black Friday in the electronics category. Other popular appliances included Apple and Sony products.
Adobe predicts that electronics, such as computers, will continue to be popular this Black Friday, thanks to the continuing prevalence of remote work. Here are the discounts predicted by Adobe for the 2023 Black Friday Electronics sales:
| Product Type | Predicted 2023 Discount Levels |
| Consumer Electronics | 30% |
| TVs | 22% |
| Computers | 24% |
| Electronic Appliances | 20% |
Clothes
Source: Statista
Clothing and accessories stores were the most popular Black Friday destinations in 2022 for 36% of American consumers, according to the NRF. A study by Future Advertising found that almost 50% of all Black Friday goods bought in the US in 2022 were clothing, shoes, and accessories.
In other countries, fashion items are also popular. For example, in Italy, 40% of consumers bought clothes, shoes, and accessories on Black Friday in 2022.
For Hungary, the figure was almost 50% of consumers, and 40% of them planned to spend up to 40,000 forints ($111) on fashion items on Black Friday. This year, 30% of Aussie consumers are planning to shop for fashion on Black Friday.
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Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are part of the major Cyber Week shopping event.
Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday – usually the last Monday of November or the first Monday of December. Traditionally, Cyber Monday is more focused on online sales, whereas Black Friday has its roots in brick-and-mortar shopping.
Along with Cyber Monday, Black Friday traditionally marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Let’s take a closer look at some Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping statistics.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday Christmas Shopping Statistics
In this guide, we’ve referred to people around the world using Black Friday as a way to find cheap Christmas gifts. Cyber Monday has a similar function, and we’ll delve into Cyber Monday shopping statistics in another article.
In 2022, both Black Friday and Cyber Monday showed record sales despite struggles with inflation, according to Nielsen.
Cyber Monday, however, saw more gift purchases, while more groceries and everyday items were purchased on Black Friday. However, the top three categories for sales on both days were electronics, fashion, and toys.
Future Black Friday Trends
We don’t know what the future holds for Black Friday or how long consumers worldwide will remain in love with it. But given current trends, we can presume it’ll be sticking around for a long time – so we can brainstorm some future Black Friday shopping trends.
Enhanced Ecommerce
Online shopping is already bringing in more Black Friday sales than traditional brick-and-mortar stores. We believe, however, that the future will see ecommerce become even more prevalent.
We foresee retailers investing heavily in improving their online platforms beyond mobile optimization – for example, using AR and VR to create more immersive shopping experiences. Personalized product recommendations and AI-driven chatbots will further enhance the user’s ecommerce experience.
Sustainability
Black Friday is strongly associated with consumerism, but many retailers are moving away from it, offering socially conscious initiatives for consumers. We expect these sustainability-centric initiatives to be integral to the future of Black Friday as users gravitate towards sustainable shopping.
Social Commerce & Multi-Channel Shopping
With TikTok and other social media channels providing advertising and commerce capabilities, social media will play an even bigger role in the future.
A few examples include influencer collaboration for UGC, live-streamed demos, and shopping directly from social media posts advertising exclusive Black Friday offerings.
Together with social media, other channels will continue to play a major role in Black Friday campaigns and sales. Customers will seamlessly transition between online and in-store shopping, utilizing mobile apps, AR, and in-store interactive displays.
The future of Black Friday shopping will be all about offering convenience and choice, allowing customers to engage with brands how they want.
Closing Thoughts
Black Friday may have started as a celebration of consumerism and has been marked by long lines in stores, but it’s undergone some significant transformations in the last few years.
We’ve seen online Black Friday sales overtake traditional sales, brands turning the occasion on its head by offering socially conscious initiatives instead of discounts, and more and more brands tapping into social media marketing.
Whether consumers choose to participate in Black Friday or not, retailers should be prepared in advance – planning Black Friday marketing campaigns takes time, especially with the increasing popularity of early bird discounts.
With the range of technology and content options on offer, brands can get creative with their campaigns. If their customers don’t care for Black Friday, they can follow the example of businesses like Patagonia and Finisterre, which have replaced consumerist campaigns with offers focused on sustainability.
