35+ Black Friday Statistics for 2023: Trends, Market, Growth & More

Black Friday is one of the most significant shopping events in the USA and worldwide.

Millions of people spend billions of dollars during the BF (Black Friday) season. If you’re a business or marketer looking for the latest Black Friday statistics, this post is exclusively for you.

In this post, you’ll discover;

• Some of the exciting stats about Black Friday
• Black Friday Trends & Facts
• Important Black Friday data and much more

Are you ready? Let’s jump into the details. 

35+ Latest Black Friday Statistics [A Handpicked List]

1. How big was Black Friday in 2022?

Black Friday sales increased by 2.3% to hit $9.12 billion, and Cyber Monday sales increased by 5.8% to $11.3 billion in 2022. (Source: Adobe)

Here’s a breakdown of revenue during special days;

• Cyber Monday: $11.3 billion
• Thanksgiving: $5.3 billion
• Veterans day: $3.14 billion

2. How much do consumers spend during the Black Friday season?

According to NRF (National Retail Federation) data, consumers spent an average of $325.44 on holiday-related purchases during the Black Friday week.

3. What are the most popular Black Friday categories?

According to the NRF research, clothing and accessories is the most popular category (bought by 50% of those surveyed).

Here are the following few popular Black Friday categories.

• Toys (31%)
• Gift cards (27%)
• Books/video games/other media (24%)
• Food and candy (23%)
• Electronics (23%)

4. Do people plan in advance for BF shopping?

Yes, 65% of shoppers planned their Black Friday shopping in advance, and 40% of shoppers used their smartphones to shop.

5. What were the total online retail sales in the US during the BF season?

Salesforce Inc. reported that U.S. Black Friday online retail sales reached $17.2 billion. That’s almost a 10% increase year over year. Salesforce also mentioned that the average discount rate on online retail sales in the U.S. was 30%. 

Black Friday eCommerce Stats

Are you a marketer? Are you running an online store? Here are some of the essential BF shopping data you should know.

1. What is the average cart abandonment rate online during the Black Friday season?

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday seasons, the cart abandonment rate is as high as 78% globally.

The cart abandonment emails have a 34% open rate and a 9% click-through rate, according to Dot Digital.

2. Do email subject lines matter for Black Friday online conversions?

Dot Digital data shows that using the phrases ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ in your subject lines leads to higher engagement, with a 64.1% increase in CTR in emails with ‘Black Friday’ or ‘Cyber Monday’ in the subject line vs. those without. 

3. What are the top-selling products during Black Friday?

Here are the best-selling products during the Black Friday week; (Source: Adobe)

• Xbox Series X
• Bluey
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
• Drones
• Macbooks

4. How many average orders were placed during the BF season?

According to Adobe Analytics, here’s the breakdown of the average items per order.

• 3.3 orders from desktop
• 2.78 orders from smartphones
• 2.75 orders from tablets 

5. Which device converts better during Black Friday?

Adobe Holiday Shopping data reveals that the conversion rate is higher on desktop (5.6%) compared to mobile (3.3%)

6. What percentage of Black Friday sales come from mobiles?

Adobe reports that mobile shopping comprised 44.88% of online sales on Black Friday in 2022, over $127 billion out of the $283 billion total revenue share.

The desktop shopping share is 55.12%, over $156 billion.

7. Which categories offer the BIGGEST discounts?

Major categories like electronics, sporting goods, toys, and appliances saw substantial online discounts to entice consumers. 

8. What marketing channels drove the most traffic during the BF season?

According to Adobe Analytics report, the primary marketing tactics that drove traffic over Black Friday and Cyber Week are listed below;

• Paid Search: 28% (+2% YoY)
• Affiliates/Partners: 18% (+6% YoY)
• Email: 17% (+10% YoY)

9. What electric items sold out more during the BF season?

Airpods sold out the most during the holiday season, according to Adobe.

Here are some of the top-selling electronics during the season;

• Smart speakers
• Roku
• Beats
• Amazon fire tv
• Ipads
• Digital cameras
• Macbooks

10. What are the demographics of most Black Friday shoppers?

77% of Black Friday shoppers were women, and 63% were aged between 35 and 54.

Finder.com reports that 71% of women plan to hunt for exclusive deals on Black Friday.

Black Friday Sales Statistics

This section includes the important BF sales stats.

1. How many people shop online during Black Friday?

69% of people will shop online for Black Friday, while only 32% will shop in person. (Source: Drive Research)

Drive Research also reports that Millennials/Gen Z are the generations who will shop online the most (86%).

2. Who purchases the most during Black Friday: male or female?

Female shoppers (73%) are more likely to shop online for Black Friday than males (65%). (Drive Research)

3. What factors influence the buyers during the Black Friday season?

Free shipping was the most significant factor (49%) influencing buyer decision-making.

It is followed by limited-time sales (36%) and an intuitive website or app (21%). (Source: NRF Research)

4. What is the average discount that shoppers receive on Black Friday?

The average discount that shoppers usually get during the Black Friday season is 25%.

5. Does social media play a role in BF sales?

Yes, definitely. According to Statista, social commerce generated over $728 billion in sales in 2022 and will generate $6.1 trillion by 2030, growing at a 31.6% annual pace.

Facts & Trends on Black Friday

Looking for the latest Black Friday trends and facts? This section is just for you.

1. Do millennials prefer online shopping or in-store shopping?

86% of millennials/Gen Y/Gen Z say they will do their Black Friday shopping online instead of in-store. (Source: Drive Research)

2. What are the most popular places to shop in person on Black Friday?

Walmart and Target will be the most popular places to shop in person on Black Friday.

Here’s the breakdown of in-person market share during BF;

• Walmart (62%)
• Target (58%)
• Shopping malls or centers (34%)

According to Drive Research, Walmart (61%), Target (61%), and shopping malls (37%) are where women will shop more in person on Black Friday.

3. At what time do most people shop during the BF season?

10 out of 40 people will start shopping in person on Friday (Black Friday) between 5 AM and 10 AM.

31% of shoppers will start their Black Friday shopping a day before, i.e., Thursday.

4. What do most shoppers purchase during the Black Friday week?

Clothing, electronics, and toys will be the biggest purchases during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

In-person Black Friday shoppers breakdown;

• Clothes (82%)
• Electronics (73%)
• Toys (53%)

Online Black Friday shoppers breakdown;

• Clothes (74%)
• Electronics (70%)
• Toys (45%)

5. What are the top reasons for people NOT to purchase anything on Black Friday?

Huge crowds (58%) are why most people won’t shop during BF season. Here are a few more reasons;

• Not liking shopping (20%)
• Not interested in buying anything (19%)
• Not wanting to spend money (13%)
• Not finding any good deals (12%)

6. Do emails promoting extra discounts work during the BF sale?

Black Friday messages promoting a “$ off” offer generated a 10.4% open rate and a 14.8% conversion rate.  (Source: Data Axle)

Data Axle also reports that Black Friday campaigns have an average 12% open rate, a 1.3% unique click rate, an 11% click-to-open rate, and an 8.8% conversion rate.

7. Is BF spending went up in the US?

According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, the US retail sales on Black Friday rose 12% year-over-year (YoY). It also reports that in-store sales grew by 12% YoY, and retail eCommerce sales grew 14% YoY.

Here’s the illustration of BF spending;

8. What is the forecast for holiday sales in 2023?

According to eMarketer, holiday retail sales in the US will reach 2.7% to over $1 trillion, with eCommerce climbing 11.3% to over $207 billion. 

Interesting Black Friday Shoppers Stats

Here are some of the exciting data on Black Friday shoppers.

1. What are the statistics for Shopify Black Friday?

Shopify merchants broke Black Friday records with $3.36 billion in sales in 2022, which was a HUGE 17% increase in sales over Black Friday in 2021.

Shopify officially revealed that merchants on Shopify saw sales of $3.5 million per minute (during peak times).

The top-selling countries on Shopify are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and the average cart price is $102.31 or $105.10.

2. What percentage of retail sales happen during the Black Friday week?

Approximately 13.2% of all retail sales in the United States happen between Black Friday and Christmas season. The interesting fact is that 43% of BF sales happened through smartphones.

3. What are some interesting BF email stats?

Here are some email stats on Black Friday marketing campaigns: 

69% of people shop online during Black Friday and only 32% shop in person. Over 74% of all online traffic on Black Friday comes from mobile devices. The email engagement rates increased during Black Friday compared to the rest of the year.

4. Do BF shoppers look for deals and discounts?

Yes, Black Friday shoppers always look for deals.

Here are some of the platforms where BF shoppers look for deals; (Source: Zippia)

• Google: 36%
• Social media: 25%
• Company website: 19%
• Others: 21%

5. Who shops the most on Black Friday?

Zippia reveals that adults aged 35 to 44 shop the most on Black Friday week, with an average spend of $430.

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FAQs | Black Friday Stats 2023

Here are some of the commonly asked questions about Black Friday numbers.

Related Resources:

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Final thoughts on Black Friday sales numbers

Hands down, Black Friday is the BIGGEST shopping event in the US and worldwide. 

The above Black Friday sales numbers reveal that Black Friday is a HUGE event for most shoppers (offline and online), with billions of dollars spent each year.

So what do you think about Black Friday shoppers? Did you find this data helpful? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments.