Black Friday/Cyber Monday Spending Grows Despite Crises

Expected average per-consumer spending in the U.S. between November 28 and December 2 is expected to rise 15 percent year-over-year to around $650, according to a Deloitte analysis from October 2024. This suggests that despite price increases over the past years related to crises like the war in Ukraine or the coronavirus pandemic, consumers are still willing to spend big on Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday or Cyber Monday. 

This is likely due to many retailers and e-commerce platforms aggressively marketing discounts and special offers valid during this timeframe. As data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) suggests, it's not just spending that continues to grow. Survey results released on November 28, 2023 show that around 200 million customers shopped for products like consumer electronics, clothing or shoes in the five-day period, up from 197 million the year prior. The highest concentration of shoppers was observed on Black Friday, with Saturday and Cyber Monday coming in second and third.

While Cyber Monday is a relatively new invention, with the phrase being coined in 2005 by the NRF, usage of the term Black Friday goes back to the 1950s and held a negative connotation in its early years. According to an article by independent fact-checking platform Snopes, Philadelphia traffic police used the term to describe road congestion on the day after Thanksgiving. By the 1980s, the term was used more positively and connected to businesses being "in the black" due to an increase of sales activity the weekend after Thanksgiving.