This year, Black Friday was on November 25th, but the deals began way before then. In the days, even weeks, leading up to Black Friday, all types of businesses were promoting a seemingly new discount every day. And these “deals” were not in vain. According to Adobe Analytics data online spending on Black Friday this year reached $9.12 billion, up 2.3% year over year, in spite of the going rate of inflation. 

 

But the shopping wasn’t just being done online. According to Melissa Repko, writing for CNBC, a new record of 196.7 million shoppers headed out to stores in search of deals all through Thanksgiving weekend and into Cyber Monday. 

 

Matt Shay, CEO of the National Retail Foundation (NRF), claims that, as inflation “hits Americans’ wallets”, the promotions offered throughout Black Friday weekend have become even more attractive to consumers. 

 

These statistics blew away the predictions of the NRF, who had estimated a turnout of 166.3 million for this year. 

 

Despite the deals offered all throughout the weekend, Black Friday remained the number one shopping day for consumers. The NRF reported that about 72.9 million shoppers chose to shop in-store on Black Friday and an estimated 87.2 million chose to shop online. 

 

Of the in-person shopping categories, 42% of people shopped at department stores, 40% of people shopped at grocery stores and supermarkets, 36% shopped at clothing and accessories stores, and 32% shopped at discount stores. 

 

As NRF defines it, the holiday season lasts from November 1st to December 31st. From this point forward, shopping, both in-store and online, has been forecasted to increase about 6-8% from 2021, with total spending expected to be between $942.6 and $960.4 billion.

 

In the upcoming weeks, holiday shopping will only continue to increase, and, hopefully, so will the deals. Promotions will continue to be released via ads, emails, and commercials so, if you’re hoping to find some last minute gifts, keep an eye out.

 

Overall, this season may prove to be one of the most profitable yet, for businesses both in-store and online. 

 

Works Cited: 

James, Dani. “Winners and losers of Black Friday 2022.” Retail Dive, 26 Nov. 2022. https://www.retaildive.com/news/winners-losers-black-friday-2022-electronics-inflation/637241/#:~:text=That%20said%2C%20Adobe%20Analytics%20data,up%202.3%25%20year%20over%20year.

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“NRF Predicts Healthy Holiday Sales as Consumers Navigate Economic Headwinds.” National Retail Federation NRF, 3 Nov. 2022. https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-predicts-healthy-holiday-sales-consumers-navigate-economic 

 

Repko, Melissa. “Shopper turnout hit record high over Black Friday weekend, retail trade group says.” CNBC News, 29 Nov. 2022.https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/shopper-turnout-hit-record-over-black-friday-weekend-trade-group-says.html