Are you planning to brave the Black Friday sales this year? Then these 2022 spending statistics will give you an idea of what you're in for.
Key Findings
The Black Friday sales have traditionally been a day of absolute mayhem.
With eager shoppers typically queuing outside stores at the crack of dawn, fighting over toaster ovens and large screen TVs once inside, and pushing around trolleys full of crap they never knew they needed.
In fact, it can feel like a bloodsport version of Supermarket Sweep!
However, there's no denying you can make some huge savings if you know what you're doing.
And this can be a big help for shoppers on a tight budget, with many of us using the Black Friday sales to buy gifts for the upcoming holiday season.
So rather than sending you into battle with your eyes closed, we thought we'd take a look at the latest Black Friday spending statistics so you'll know what to expect.
And to do this we analysed various surveys and reports including those from the following retail companies to get an idea of the general Black Friday shopping trends in 2022.
How Popular Is Black Friday In 2022?
Black Friday has been decreasing in popularity over recent years and the PYMNTS survey echoed this by finding that there were 6.7 million fewer shoppers on Black Friday in 2022 compared to 2021.
However, there were still 52.6% of people in the United States who planned to make at least one purchase on Black Friday this year, which amounts to 136.4 million shoppers (PYMNTS).
While the National Retail Federation found that Black Friday was the busiest shopping day over the 2022 Thanksgiving weekend, both online (with 87.2 million shoppers) and in-store (72.9 million shoppers).
With 69% of people who were planning to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend doing so specifically on Black Friday.
Which would equate to 114.9m potential shoppers on the day.
So Black Friday certainly isn't finished just yet!
How Much Are We Spending On Black Friday In 2022?
Thanksgiving weekend is huge for retailers, but how much are Americans spending on Black Friday in particular?
Well, most of their weekend budget would be the answer with consumers estimating that they'd spend 38.7% of their Thanksgiving weekend budget on the day, making it the most popular day of the weekend (ICSC).
And while in store totals and spends are not widely known, online sales in the United States hit a record high of $9.12 billion dollars on Black Friday 2022 (Adobe).
This was an increase of 2.3% on the previous years total, although it remained behind Cyber Monday for online sales which hit 11.3 billion this year.
While globally the figure for online sales during Black Friday hit a whopping $65.3 billion (Salesforce).
And 64% of Americans surveyed were planning to use the Black Friday sales to do some holiday gift shopping at an average spend of $205 per person (Deloitte).
Where Were The Biggest Discounts On Black Friday In 2022?
If you were looking to buy something for the kids during Black Friday in 2022 then you were in luck as a discount of 31.8% on average could be found for toys on the day (Adobe).
The next best category for discounts was electronics which posted an average of 23.4% off, while computers were also a good deal at 17.1% off.
And it was also a good time to buy appliances (13.6% discount) and televisions (13% off).
Clothing bargains could be found with apparel having an average discount of 13.6% and sporting goods being 6.3% off.
And furniture was available at 4.6% lower than the regular retail price.
While the top 5 selling products of the day were said to be X Box Series X, Bluey, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Drones, and Macbooks (Adobe).
And the Mastercard report cited better promotions in 2022 being a reason for Black Friday sales being up 12% in-store and 14% online over the previous year.
Where Are We Doing Our Black Friday Shopping In 2022?
The PYMNTS survey found that shopping online was the most popular way that consumers took advantage of the Black Friday deals, with 25.8% choosing to shop this way.
While in-store shopping appealed to just 17% of consumers.
And for online shoppers, using a smartphone to shop was becoming increasingly popular, with 48% of all online sales made via one in 2022 (Adobe).
However, there was a big increase in consumers who shopped both online AND in-store on Black Friday in 2022, which was the choice for 24.5% of people (PYMNTS).
Whereas in 2021 only 16.1% used both shopping methods on the day, and it was even lower in 2020 at just 13.4%.
How Are We Paying For Black Friday Purchases In 2022?
When it came to in-store purchases on Black Friday in 2022 cash remains king, with 43.8% paying for their purchases this way (PYMNTS).
While 39.8% used their debit card and 37.4% paid by credit card.
For online Black Friday purchases credit cards were the most popular form of payment, with 49.4% of online shoppers saying they'd use one for their purchases.
With debit cards following closely behind being used by 47.7% of online consumers.
And there was a marked increase in digital forms of payment on Black Friday in 2022.
As 12.7% used Apple Pay (up from 7.8% in 2021), 10% used Google Pay (up from $4.9%) and 8.2% used Venmo (up from 4.1%) for online purchases (PYMNTS).
While 12.7% used Apple Pay (up from 8.1% in 2021), 8.4% used Google Pay (up from 6.5%) and 6.1% used Venmo (up from 3.8%) for in-store buys.
Shoppers Are Using Credit More On Black Friday In 2022
It's important not to get carried away with the Black Friday sales, but the sad fact is many of us do.
Which might be why so many Americans (32.6%) who planned to shop on Black Friday said they would use a form of credit for at least one of their Black Friday purchases (PYMNTS).
In fact, it was estimated that 50.2% of all Black Friday spending would be financed by some form of credit.
So while people were happy to take advantage of the better deals on the day, they would have to pay it off further down the line.
Not Everyone Loves Black Friday
Now while the majority of Americans were hoping to make at least one purchase on Black Friday, there were still plenty of people that just give the whole thing a wide berth.
With the National Retail Federation estimating that 31% of those surveyed wouldn't be shopping on Black Friday in 2022, while PYMNTS had this figure higher at 47.3%.
And 33% of people who planned to do some shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend said they wouldn't be doing any on Black Friday (PYMNTS).
With some of the reasons given for this being that the stores would be too crowded (31%), the deals weren't good enough (15%) or they were waiting until later to begin their holiday shopping (18%).
So while Black Friday can be a great day for picking up a bargain, it can also be a bit of a pain in the backside!
Rounding Up
Fighting your way through the Black Friday sales isn't everyone's idea of fun, but it can save you a packet if you shop smartly.
So reading up on the latest Black Friday spending statistics and trends can really help you to navigate this crazy day.
And the big finding here is that many of us are increasingly opting to shop online rather than in store to avoid the queues, crowds, and mayhem.
So if busy stores aren't your thing, pour yourself a nice cup of coffee, get your credit card at the ready and browse through the various offers and discounts from the comfort of your own home instead.
Sources:
https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2022/11/29/cyber-week-2022/
https://s23.q4cdn.com/979560357/files/113022AdobeCyberMondaySECURED.pdf
https://business.adobe.com/resources/holiday-shopping-report.html#
https://content.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PYMNTS-Black-Friday-November-2022.pdf
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