Black Friday drove a record $10.8 billion in US online sales

According to Adobe, retail sites saw a 1,800% increase in traffic from AI tools like ChatGPT, reflecting a growing reliance on technology to find the best deals and locate products. For its part, Best Buy saw a significant year-over-year increase in Black Friday online sales driven by its strong mobile shopping platform as well as its early deals.

“It’s about getting the best deal,” said Sarah Davis, head of user research at finance app Cleo, regarding consumers’ holiday shopping behavior. She cited Cleo survey data showing that nearly two-thirds of Gen Z shoppers used sales events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday to buy holiday gifts this year.

Likewise, Michael Brown, partner and Americas retail leader at management consultancy Kearney, stressed the importance of big discounts. “Consumers have been shopping at 30-50% off since Halloween,” he said. “Fifty percent off seems to be the magic number to get the consumer interested this holiday season.”

Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters, which both had deep discounts of 50% off, saw increased foot traffic compared to last year, according to in-store performance data from RetailNext. Ann Taylor and Loft also offered 50% off. Meanwhile, Kendra Scott and Fabletics engaged shoppers with holiday-themed apparel and accessories, equating to a foot traffic boost. Macy’s, which offered significant discounts of up to 75% on select apparel, also pulled in more traffic year-over-year.

Along with the bargain shoppers, Brown noted that this year’s holiday consumers also include shoppers who are “chasing trending products they want, regardless of price.”

On a related note, the use of buy-now, pay-later services increased by 8.8% year-over-year, according to Adobe. “BNPL has become a lifeline for Gen Z, especially as they face less savings and more financial obligations,” said Davis. However, for all of 2024, BNPL use is down compared to previous years.

“We’re seeing a shift toward trading up this year — consumers are more willing to splurge on higher-ticket items, especially when they feel the deal is strong enough,” said Pandya, pointing to consumer behavior when shopping outerwear, jackets and accessories.

Footwear, which had declining sales every month except August this year, emerged as a strong performer, according to Joe Shasteen, RetailNext global manager of advanced analytics. Foot traffic at footwear stores was up 1.3%. Meanwhile, jewelry, which saw the highest sales increase among fashion-related categories throughout the year and a 6.7% sales increase on Black Friday in 2023, saw a slight -0.2% sales decline this year.