Black Friday consumers go online, rather than stand in line
Shoppers are leaning heavily on promotional codes found online through social media influencers to squeeze out extra discounts during Cyber Week
[NEW YORK/ATLANTA] Bargain-hunting Americans clicked their way through Thanksgiving, spending 5 per cent more than last year, as more consumers turned to laptops and phones instead of braving brisk weather to snap up deals over the crucial Black Friday shopping weekend.
While early online sales figures showed a promising trend for spending, at major retailers, the traditional Black Friday bargain-chasing felt subdued compared to years when throngs of people stood in line on a post-Thanksgiving morning. Many of those who ventured out said they were on a budget, fearful of overspending at a time when inflation remains above-trend and the labour market is softening.
“I’m being much more careful,” said Grace Curbelo, 67, of New Rochelle, New York, who was at the Woodbury Common outlet centre in Central Valley, New York, on Friday (Nov 28) morning. “I’m not sure how the economy will turn, and I don’t want to put myself in debt.”
Cautious consumers, higher prices
Overall online spending on Thanksgiving on Thursday rose 5.3 per cent year over year to US$6.4 billion, according to Adobe Analytics, which vets e-commerce transactions online, covering over one trillion visits to US retail sites. That was better than anticipated, Adobe said, as online shopping has diluted Black Friday’s significance, with promotions geared towards the event spread across weeks.
Vivek Pandya, director of Adobe Digital Insights at Adobe Analytics, said discounts have been on par with the last holiday season. Shoppers are leaning heavily on promotional codes found online through social media influencers to squeeze out extra discounts during Cyber Week. The spectre of higher prices hovered over the day.
US retail sales increased less than expected in September, in part due to elevated prices, and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have contributed to this trend, adding roughly 4.9 percentage points to retail prices, according to the non-profit Tax Foundation. Software firm Salesforce said its early data showed prices in the United States rising faster than worldwide.
The average online selling price for goods was 8 per cent higher than last year, compared with 5 per cent globally, a sign of both the effect of tariffs and spending from affluent households, who have continued to shop while most income groups say their consumer confidence is low.
“This is the only market where we’re seeing such high increases in average selling price. So there absolutely is a component of retailers trying to save margins because of the impact of the tariffs,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce.
With unemployment near a four-year high, shoppers have also become more selective. US consumer confidence sagged to a seven-month low in November, according to economic research group The Conference Board, with fewer households planning to buy motor vehicles, houses and other big-ticket items over the next six months, or to make vacation plans.
The richest 10 per cent of Americans, those earning at least US$250,000 annually, accounted for about 48 per cent of all consumer spending in the second quarter of 2025, a steady increase from around 35 per cent of spending in the mid-1990s, according to Moody’s Analytics.
“Higher income consumers are a little more resilient, and that’s why we are seeing strong growth in categories like furniture and luxury,” said Schwartz.
Heather Cheatham, 50, of Lynchburg, Virginia, started her Black Friday shopping by sampling scents and hunting for Armani eye tints in LVMH’s Sephora at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. Cheatham did not give herself a budget, and she has already purchased gifts for her daughter at the apparel company American Eagle Outfitters’ Aerie, stereo equipment for her son, and a golf putter for her other son.
Quiet at sunup
Black Friday looked different this year, according to Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at Circana, who spent the morning visiting stores and malls across New York and New Jersey. Gone were the early-morning rushes and long lines outside retailers.
Among the retailers Cohen visited, Target “won the morning”, he said, because it handed out swag bags to the first 100 customers. Walmart gained momentum later in the day as traffic picked up.
About an hour before sunup in freezing temperatures, Quantavius Shorter, 40, a diesel engine mechanic from Atlanta, was one of the first of only a dozen people waiting in line at 5.59 am at the local Walmart in Atlanta’s Gresham Park neighbourhood.
Shorter bought a Roku, flat-screen smart TV for US$298, a perfect discount for his smaller Christmas budget.
“This is usually US$500,” said Shorter. “I’m here early because I expected it to sell out.” In Europe, the shopping day was marked by strikes at Amazon warehouses in Germany, with separate protests also planned outside Zara stores in Spain. Meanwhile, Starbucks’ workers union also said they were escalating their ongoing indefinite strike to 26 more stores in the US on Black Friday. REUTERS
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