Black Friday Statistics for 2022 (That Will Blow Your Mind)

Black Friday is still the biggest shopping day of the year, though trends have evolved in recent years in response to new online offerings and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To give you the full picture of Black Friday, we’ve compiled the most interesting Black Friday statistics based on 2021 numbers and 2022 predictions.

By understanding these trends, you’ll have a good sense of what to expect this Black Friday and how to prepare your own business for success.  

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Black Friday Shopper Statistics

In 2021, Black Friday had a whopping 88 million online shoppers and 66.5 million in-store shoppers, accounting for a total of nearly 155 million Black Friday shoppers in the U.S.

Thanksgiving Weekend In-Store and Online Shoppers by Day

In particular, Cyber Monday saw an impressive 77 million online shoppers. 

When considering the entire Thanksgiving shopping weekend, 2021 saw 179.8 million unique US shoppers total, which exceeded expectations by over 21 million.

Thanksgiving Weekend Shoppers in the U.S. (2017-2021)

However, compared to past Thanksgiving weekends, 2021 numbers were still lower than 2019 and 2020, which had 189.6 million and 186.4 million shoppers respectively.  

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Black Friday Sales Statistics

In 2021, holiday retail sales reached $886.7 billion, which is a 14.1% growth.

Historical Holiday Sales From 2022 to 2021 (in billions)

Yet, interestingly, Black Friday sales in 2021 dipped by 1.3% at $8.9 billion in sales, compared to $9 billion in 2020. 

This also speaks to the overall trend of consumers shifting their spending to earlier in the season, instead of just taking advantage of Black Friday deals. Consider that eCommerce sales in November reached $100 billion for the first time in 2020.

In fact, 61% of consumers in the U.S. started shopping in early November and sales were up 13.6% in November compared to last year. 

Percent of U.S. Consumers, Who Started Shopping by Early November (From 2011 to 2021)

What’s more, Black Friday shoppers spent $430 on average in 2021, compared to $410 in 2020.

For their overall holiday shopping, Americans spent $440 on average in-store and $924 online.

U.S. Holiday Spending From 2015 to 2021 (Online vs. In-Store)

Spending was also distinct for certain shopping categories and whether buyers were repeated customers. While average order values increased by 9% overall in 2021, categories such as Home goods, Jewelry, and Electronics had especially high-value carts.

Average Order Value of Shoppers’ Carts on Black Friday 2021

(based on how many times they’ve bought from a brand before)

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Popular Black Friday Trends

It’s also important to highlight other Black Friday trends that surged in 2021, including:

1. Cyber Monday has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, with a total spend of $10.7 billion in 2021. (This is just shy of 2020’s record of $10.8 billion.) At peak times, consumers spent $12 million every minute during Cyber Monday.

2. Amazon was a top Black Friday retailer for the second year in a row, accounting for 17.7% of all sales. Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Costo were also top earners. 

2021 Black Friday Top Retailers

3. Pickup options are key to consumers. Retailers who offered pickup grew revenue by 50% more compared to those who didn’t.

4. Out-of-stock items surged in 2021, with 40% of electronics out-of-stock and overall out-of-stock messages up by 250%.

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Black Friday Shopper Behavior Statistics

Black Friday shoppers in 2021 also had a unique profile with 52% first-time buyers. In the electronics category, this was even more pronounced with 89% first-time buyers.

Percentage of Repeat Customers & First-Time Buyers on Black Friday 2021

In addition, shoppers in 2021 had the following characteristics:

• 58% of purchases on Black Friday were impulse buys. 
• Black Friday shoppers viewed 5.28 products on average.
• 27% of shoppers choose to shop in-store because of the excitement of it.

What’s more, there were several key factors that influenced shopper behavior on Black Friday.

Besides the price, which swayed 86% of consumers to purchase, shoppers were interested in free shipping (49%), promotions (36%), an easy-to-use website/app (21%), and store pick-up (20%). 

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Black Friday Shopper Demographic Statistics

In addition, millennials were the biggest online spenders on Black Friday 2021 in the U.S. What’s more, they led online shopping with nearly 45% of purchases happening on the internet. 

2021 Black Friday Shoppers Demographics in the U.S.

Some other key shopper demographics for 2021 included:

• Gen Z preferred to shop in-store, with nearly 72% buying in brick-and-mortar stores.
• 29% of women intended to shop during Black Friday 2021.
• Overall, 38% of total shoppers choose to purchase online. 

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Black Friday Popular Industries & Items Statistics

For holiday shopping, the most popular category remains clothing and apparel at 66%, with toys at 52% and electronics at 49%. 

Thanksgiving Shopping by Industry

In fact, shoppers tend to browse apparel the most of any other category, viewing 8.54 products about 17.97 times on average.

Apparel is also best at gaining recapturing buyers, with 5.96% repeat customers from earlier in the year.  

In addition, the top three trending items for Black Friday 2021 were the Switch, Barbie, and Oculus, though popular products are sure to change in 2022. 

Top Trending Products for Black Friday 2021 in the U.S.

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Black Friday Online Traffic Statistics

To start, a new record of nearly 42.4% of Black Friday sales happened on mobile phones and 58% were made on desktop devices. Interestingly enough, conversion rates were also higher on desktops at 6.9%. 

That said, Black Friday site traffic was 5% lower in 2021 compared to 2020, though still impressive for brands.

Across verticals, site traffic in 2021 was 110% higher than on a typical day.

According to the NRF, shoppers are also experiencing multichannel shopping journeys that mix different channels according to whether they’re learning about the product, browsing for it, or buying it. 

The Multichannel Shopping Journey

For example, 32% of shoppers are using social media to learn about products, while 50% are using a mobile app to browse products and 27% are using hybrid online and in-store methods to purchase.

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Black Friday Social Media & Marketing Statistics

What’s more, social media has become essential to Black Friday’s success.

For example, 56% of shoppers use social media to research products and 28% for holiday shopping.

Use of Social Media for Holiday Shopping (from 2011 to 2021)

79% of shoppers expect social media replies within 24 hours. 

In addition, SMS is becoming a highly effective marketing technique, surpassing email efforts.

For Cyber Week, SMS grew 83% as a method for brands, compared to 15% for email. 

Even so, 116.5 million emails were sent on Black Friday, more than any other. 

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Black Friday Worldwide Statistics

Black Friday is also a worldwide event, though its presence is strongest in the U.S.

According to traffic searches on Black Friday, the U.S. held 21% of traffic, while Germany, Brazil, and the U.K. had more than 10% of all searches.  

Leading Countries Searching for Black Friday in 2021

Every country has its own trends in terms of shopping channels, too. Online-only shopping was especially popular in the U.K. (48%) and Israel (46%). 

Finally, some Black Friday purchases are crossing borders, with 15% of Shopify orders being sent to other countries.

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2022 Black Friday Predictions

According to Adobe’s 2022 Forecast, in the U.S. the holiday season should bring in $209.7 billion in sales for a 2.5% year-over-year growth. Like 2021, spending will likely start early in October. 

Holiday Spend Growth From in the U.S. (from 2015 to 2022)

While Cyber Monday is expected to remain the year’s biggest shopping day, Black Friday sales are predicted to see 1% year-over-year growth in 2022. 

In particular, Electronics, Apparel, and Groceries categories are expected to contribute $103.8 billion in online spending this holiday season. 

Holiday Seasons’ Discounts in the U.S.

What’s more, Black Friday weekend discounts are expected to hit highs of up to 32% overall this season, with new records in Electronics, Toys, and Computers. 

Finally, shipping trends are expected to change for the season, as customers get more comfortable with in-store shopping after the pandemic.

In fact, an NRF survey suggests that 45% of shoppers are likely to browse and buy in stores on Black Friday this year. 

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Get Black Friday Statistics and More with Siteefy

Will Black Friday in 2022 follow these predictions? We’ll have to wait to find out! 

In the meantime, you can get a better sense of shopping trends for the holiday season with these powerful Black Friday statistics.

As you prepare your eCommerce website for Black Friday shoppers, be sure to keep in mind these top stats and get even more tips on Siteefy’s blog!

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