In the United States, only around three in 10 people found Black Friday sales to be good value. An additional 34 percent of consumers said while they offered good value, it was not always worth the hassle of shopping on that day. The 2023 survey also revealed that some consumers (24 percent of respondents) believed retailers inflated the prices on the run-up to Black Friday and discounted them on the day of the event.

In 2023, online retail sales during Black Friday in Brazil generated 5.23 billion Brazilian reals, a drop compared to 6.1 billion Brazilian reals in the same period of the previous year. As of 2017, the figures refer to the aggregate revenue generated on the previous Thursday, in addition to Friday.

Expected to reach 12 billion U.S. dollars, Cyber Monday is the shopping day with the highest e-commerce sales revenue in the United States in 2023. Black Friday ranks second, with over nine billion dollars in online revenue according to the latest forecasts.

Data on the 2023 edition of the Amazon Black Friday shopping event showed that the actual shopping day usually registered the most outstanding performance. Compared to the average sales of previous week, Black Friday sales increased by 203 percent in Germany. However, the increase was the lowest in Italy, where online sales incresed by 77 percent on Black Friday.

Apparel and accessories was the e-commerce category with the highest share in total retail sales in the United States as of February 2023. 18.3 percent of all retail sales in the fashion segment were generated online. The category with the second-highest percentage of retail sales in the U.S. was furniture, at 15.7 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, office equipment and supplies had the lowest share of retail sales, below two percent.

The continuous rise of e-commerce

Online shopping is on the rise in the United States. The share of all retail sales in the U.S. stemming from online shopping has increased from 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to a record-breaking 15.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023. Consequently, the sales of retail e-commerce have surged from 39 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2010 to more than 280 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2023. This boom is forecast to continue over the next few years, with the estimated revenue from online sales, including digital services, reaching 1.72 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027.

The king of e-commerce

In the United States, the number of online shoppers continues to grow. In 2023, there were more than a quarter of a million online shoppers, and the number is forecast to reach over 300 million by 2028. The most popular online shopping destination in the U.S., Amazon, sees a surge of shoppers during certain shopping occasions, which feature appealing bargains that encourage extravagant spending. In 2023, the biggest increase in sales occurred on Black Friday, with an increase of nearly 35 percent. Amazon's deal event for Prime members, Prime Day, saw 17 percent more sales. As for Cyber Monday, sales went up by 13 percent.

In 2024, holiday retail sales in the United States were forecast to reach about 979.5 billion U.S. dollars. This figure was given as a conservative value; retail sales over the holiday season was projected to be between 979.5 billion U.S. dollars to 989 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Holiday retail sales have risen substantially since the turn of the century, with holiday retail sales amounting to approximately 416 billion U.S. dollars back in 2002. Holiday retail sales are a fraction of total retail sales in the United States which were around seven trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. Holiday season e-commerce is also on the rise, with increasing numbers of retailers and consumers going digital. What makes up the winter holiday season in the United States? The winter holiday season includes shopping occasions such as Thanksgiving weekend - which is made up of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, Super Saturday – the last Saturday before Christmas, and Christmas itself. Thanksgiving weekend is a very popular time for consumers to partake in holiday shopping. In 2022, over 100 million U.S. consumers shopped on Black Friday. Leading companies in U.S. retail The domestic retail market in the United States is very competitive, with many companies recording substantial retail sales. Walmart, a retail chain offering low prices and a wide selection of products, is the leading retailer in the United States. Amazon, The Kroger Co., Costco, and Target are a selection of other leading U.S. retailers.

In a survey conducted about festive season shopping expectations among Australian consumers in September 2023, over 55 percent of those surveyed said they intended to shop online only during the 2023 Black Friday sales. Around one-fifth of respondents indicated they planned to shop only in-store during the Black Friday sales period that year.

As Black Friday is becoming one of the most popular and anticipated shopping events globally, online sales transactions made on this day are seeing surges across European countries as well. In 2019, Black Friday, which fell on November 29, online retail transactions saw the greatest growth in the Nordic countries of Denmark and Norway, with 692 and 687 percent change compared to the previous month of the same year, respectively. Cyber Monday was the less popular shopping occasion of the two. In the United Kingdom, online retail transactions grew by 185 percent on Cyber Monday in 2019.

A survey on holiday shopping revealed that while 84 percent of retailers believe that consumers can get deals whenever they want, 58 percent strongly believe that holiday events are still a powerful source of revenue. Additionally, 60 percent of high performing retailers would like to shift their sales value towards online shopping during Black Friday in 2023.

According to a survey carried out in the United States in October 2023, nearly 68 percent of shoppers stated that they planned to participate in Black Friday by shopping online. In contrast, under a third of U.S. consumers planned to shop in-store on this day.

In March 2024, Amazon.com had approximately 2.2 billion combined web visits, up from 2.1 billion visits in February. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Amazon’s net income amounted to approximately 20 billion U.S. dollars. Online retail in the United States Online retail in the United States is constantly growing. In the third quarter of 2023, e-commerce sales accounted for 15.6 percent of retail sales in the United States. During that quarter, U.S. retail e-commerce sales amounted to over 284 billion U.S. dollars. Amazon is the leading online store in the country, in terms of e-commerce net sales. Amazon.com generated around 130 billion U.S. dollars in online sales in 2022. Walmart ranked as the second-biggest online store, with revenues of 52 billion U.S. dollars. The king of Black Friday In 2023, Amazon ranked as U.S. shoppers' favorite place to go shopping during Black Friday, even surpassing in-store purchasing. Nearly six out of ten consumers chose Amazon as the number one place to go find the best Black Friday deals. Similar findings can be observed in the United Kingdom (UK), where Amazon is also ranked as the preferred Black Friday destination.

Roughly four out of 10 U.S. consumers surveyed in a recent study said they might go shop in-store for the Black Friday sales in 2024. This made it the most popular response. Just about one percent of respondents said that they will definitely not do their Black Friday sales shopping in store.

In 2023, online sales transactions during Black Friday in Colombia generated revenues of approximately 370 million Colombian pesos, representing a change of around 12 percent when compared to the prior year. Around 100 million users were expected to access the platforms to shop during the Black Friday days.

In the United States, holiday season online retail sales grew by 8.8 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. Forecasts suggested that this growth would increase in 2024 to 9.5 percent. The new normal in holiday shopping In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many U.S. consumers to do their holiday shopping online. A year later, although the situation once again allows for physical shopping, e-commerce is still gaining relevance. According to estimates, holiday season online retail sales in the United States were to reach new heights in 2023, amounting to 254 billion dollars. As in previous years, Cyber Monday and Black Friday would remain the most relevant holiday shopping days in 2023, expected to generate approximately 12 billion and 9.6 billion U.S. dollars in sales, respectively. A preference for online With Cyber Monday expected to generate 2.4 billion dollars more than Black Friday in 2023, it comes as no surprise that most holiday shoppers reported that their preferred type of retailer for holiday gifts were online-only retailers. Over six in ten consumers prefered to buy holiday gifts from e-commerce only merchants, while department stores only only preferred by about 24 percent of seasonal shoppers.

According to a survey carried out in October 2024, Walmart was the top Black Friday shopping destination of choice for U.S. consumers. Seven out of 10 respondents stated that they planned to shop in-person in Target stores for Black Friday in 2024.

Amazon Prime Day sales have been rising gradually year after year. In 2023, sales during the event reached a new record high, amounting to 12.9 billion U.S. dollars, most of which came from the United States.

Amazon Prime Day Amazon Prime Day launched in 2015 as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Amazon's founding. The event quickly became the online retailer's biggest shopping day of the year, making it the summer counterpart to Black Friday. Since July 2019, the shopping event runs for 48 hours, continuing an upward trend from the 24 hours when first introduced. Shoppers must be Amazon Prime members to take advantage of the sales. In 2020, there were approximately 200 million Amazon Prime members worldwide.

What is mainly purchased? According to a survey conducted in the United States, the most popular purchases on Amazon Prime Day in 2021 were items included in exclusive Prime Day offers, followed by products that users are accustomed to buying on this platform. In addition, some took advantage of the celebration to buy in advance their holiday gifts. Among the top-selling categories at that year's event were health and beauty products, as well as electronics, each purchased by more than a quarter of Prime buyers.

In 2023, the best-selling category was clothing with a revenue of almost 14.6 billion euros; however, it did experience a significant decrease compared to the previous year. Shopping paradise The revenue figures for these product groups were most likely significantly influenced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in Germany, with online shopping replacing some former brick-and-mortar purchases. Online shopping in Germany has enjoyed consistent success even before the pandemic due to its many convenient features for the customer. To name a few: 24/7 availability, browsing and buying independently of a location (whether in terms of the retailer or the shopper), home delivery, and the opportunity to compare various retailers easily. In 2022, 91 percent of German internet users shopped online. When it came to shopping events such as Black Friday, the overwhelming majority of German shoppers made their purchases online. Only eight percent of consumers went to physical stores in 2023, whilst almost 60 percent shopped online. Amazon rules Certain online shops are especially popular in Germany, recording impressive revenue figures year after year. Like most of the world, Germans also shop on Amazon. In fact, when looking at Amazon’s net sales, Germany was the second-largest market, making almost 38 billion U.S. dollars. The convenience of Amazon’s platform is what makes it so attractive to consumers. There are a variety of different categories from which consumers can make purchases, such as electronics, homeware, and even fashion. The popularity of Amazon is also reflected in consumer opinions. When surveyed about favorite online stores, Amazon came out on top, with 78 percent of respondents having bought something from there in the past 12 months. Ebay and Otto.de followed in the ranking.

During the 2024 holiday season, projected online sales during Cyber Five, the five-day period over the Thanksgiving Weekend, are set to reach over 39 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. This would be a two billion dollar increase from the previous year.

Approximately a third of surveyed Hungarians planned to buy chothing items on Black Friday in 2023, making it the leading product category. Household and chemical products came second in the ranking, while household appliances were the third most popular product category among Hungarian shoppers.