21 Key Black Friday Statistics for the 2022 Shopping Season
Black Friday and Cyber Weekend mark the peak of the holiday shopping season. In this overview of the latest Black Friday statistics, you’ll learn how many Americans shopped on this holiday in 2021 and how much they spent. You’ll also find out what the most popular products were and how individual retailers fared in 2021. Finally, you’ll read how many UK consumers shopped on Black Friday in 2021 and how much money they spent.
Top 10 Black Friday Statistics and Facts
154.5 million Americans shopped on Black Friday 2021.
88 million Americans shopped online on Black Friday 2021.
66.5 million Americans shopped in stores on Black Friday 2021.
58% of Black Friday purchases in 2021 were impulse buys.
Americans spent $8.9 billion online on Black Friday 2021.
US shoppers placed 8% fewer orders on Black Friday 2021.
Amazon accounted for 17.7% of all revenue on Black Friday 2021.
59% of in-store buyers shopped at Walmart on Black Friday 2021.
Black Friday discounts in 2021 averaged 24%.
Brits spent $9.94 billion on Black Friday 2021.
Black Friday Shopping Statistics
154.5 million Americans shopped on Black Friday 2021.
On the whole, US retailers saw 179.8 million unique customers during the five-day Cyber Weekend — a period beginning on Thanksgiving Day and ending on Cyber Monday. Although the number marked a decrease from 186.4 million unique customers in 2020, it far exceeded the National Retail Federation (NRF) projection of 158.3 million. And while it was still below the 189.6 million in pre-pandemic 2019, the number was 8.4% higher than 165.8 million in 2018.
(National Retail Federation)
88 million Americans shopped online on Black Friday 2021.
Black Friday online sales statistics point to a 12.6% decrease from nearly 100.7 million in 2020. That year, however, ecommerce sales saw record highs due to the lockdowns and an overall shift to online shopping. For a fairer comparison, we can look at data from pre-pandemic 2019, when 93.2 million people shopped online on Black Friday. As for the entire Cyber Weekend, the number of online shoppers stood at 127.8 million — down by 12.1% from 145.4 million in 2020.
(National Retail Federation)
66.5 million Americans shopped in stores on Black Friday 2021.
Thanks to high vaccination rates and the relaxing of the pandemic-related restrictions, physical stores saw a sizable increase in foot traffic in 2021. A look at Black Friday numbers reveals a 25.4% rise from just under 53.1 million shoppers in 2020. However, the numbers are still below Black Friday 2019, when 84.2 million US consumers shopped in stores. Overall, last year’s Cyber Weekend saw 104.9 million in-store shoppers — up by 13.6% from 92.3 million in 2020.
(National Retail Federation)
Black Friday was the busiest day of the 2021 Cyber Weekend.
With a total of 144.5 million shoppers, Black Friday sales figures were enough to make it Cyber Weekend’s busiest day. Meanwhile, Cyber Monday saw 97.3 million shoppers — 77 million of them online. The Saturday after Black Friday — also known as Small Business Saturday, when consumers focus on local small businesses — saw 51 million in-store and 56.4 million online shoppers. Totaling 107.4 million, it was Cyber Weekend’s second busiest day in 2021.
(National Retail Federation)
46% of in-store consumers do their shopping between 7 am and 10 am.
One of the best-known Black Friday facts is that in-store shoppers tend to visit retailers early to avoid missing the best deals. While 46% go to stores between 7 am and 10 am, 36% will already be there between midnight and 6 am. For 27% of customers, this holiday shopping frenzy is the main reason to visit brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday. Other top reasons include getting the best discounts (73%) and enjoying shopping with friends and family (46%).
(Deloitte)
52% of Black Friday shoppers in 2021 were first-time buyers of specific brands.
Black Friday sales data shows that most first-time buyers were in the consumer electronics category — a staggering 89%. According to experts, this is likely because these consumers were lured in by a single discounted big-ticket item (e.g., a TV or a computer) and didn’t return for additional purchases. Other product categories with a high share of first-time buyers in 2021 included home goods (61%), jewelry (60%), sporting goods (60%), and footwear (56%).
(Bluecore)
58% of Black Friday purchases in 2021 were impulse buys.
According to Black Friday sales results, the categories with most impulse purchases in 2021 were sporting goods (70%), footwear (63%), and health and beauty (61%). On the other hand, the categories in which customers were least likely to buy on impulse included consumer electronics (56%), apparel (52%), and home goods (51%). Interestingly, a recent survey found that 42% of shoppers end up regretting their Black Friday purchases — planned or unplanned.
(Bluecore, Self Financial)
Black Friday Spending Statistics
Americans spent $8.9 billion online on Black Friday 2021.
The number was 1.3% down from the record-high $9.03 billion US online consumers spent on this shopping holiday the previous year. It also marked Black Friday’s first-ever year-over-year decline. Meanwhile, Cyber Monday saw an online spend of $10.7 billion (down from $10.8 billion in 2020), making it 2021’s biggest online shopping day. Overall, ecommerce revenue during Cyber Weekend 2021 totaled $33.2 billion — a 1.4% decrease from 2020.
(TechCrunch)
US shoppers placed 8% fewer orders on Black Friday 2021.
Black Friday sales stats show that the number of orders placed was lower across the board compared to Black Friday 2020. For example, there were 25% fewer orders of health and beauty products and 23% fewer in consumer electronics. Yet despite this, the average order value was 9% higher than in 2020. The categories with the biggest order value increases included home goods (24%), sporting goods (14%), apparel (13%), and jewelry (13%).
(Bluecore)
Toys were by far the most popular Black Friday items in 2021.
Between the beginning of the holiday shopping season (November 1) and Black Friday (November 26), toys saw a 954% spike in sales compared to pre-holiday levels in September. The most popular items in this category included Hot Wheels, Baby Alive, Paw Patrol, Nerf, and Squeakee toys. Other categories with high holiday season sales increases included books (+671%), video games (+648%), appliances (+617%), and personal care products (+553%).
(Forbes, Adobe Blog)
Visits to shopping sites dropped by 5% year-over-year on Black Friday 2021.
Analysts attribute this drop to the fact that more people opted for in-store shopping in 2021. Only footwear retailers managed to evade these negative Black Friday ecommerce trends — their visits were up by 3%. Unsurprisingly, all ecommerce sites saw massive visits increases compared to a regular day in 2021. Apparel (+129%) and sporting goods (+127%) sites led the gains, with footwear (+113%) and jewelry (+105%) websites also posting three-digit increases.
(Bluecore)
Black Friday Sales Statistics by Retailer
Amazon accounted for 17.7% of all revenue on Black Friday 2021.
For the second consecutive year, Amazon was the top Black Friday retailer overall. Looking at the age breakdown, the ecommerce giant was the leading retailer among all age groups except for Gen-Zers, with millennials accounting for the biggest share of the revenue (19.9%). Amazon Black Friday statistics also show White Americans were responsible for 18.4% of the Black Friday revenue, whereas Black Americans ranked second at 17.4% — up from 10.3% in 2020.
(Numerator)
59% of in-store buyers shopped at Walmart on Black Friday 2021.
This puts Walmart firmly in the lead over its competitors — Target (42%), Best Buy (30%), and Kohl’s (21%). Walmart Black Friday statistics reveal that Gen-Zers were responsible for the largest share of purchases on this shopping holiday. At 12.7%, Walmart had more Gen-Z shoppers than Amazon (11.1%). Most Walmart shoppers on Black Friday were Hispanics (14.1%), with Black Americans in second (12.9%) and White Americans in third place (10.9%).
(PYMNTS, Numerator)
Shopify’s Cyber Weekend sales in 2021 totaled $6.3 billion.
The sales saw a 23% increase from $5.1 billion in 2020. Shopify’s Black Friday stats show that 47 million people worldwide shopped on sites that use this ecommerce platform. And while the average value of a curbside pickup order was $96.60, locally delivered orders averaged $97.40. The year saw an increase in mobile shopping, which made up 71% of all orders. International shipping was also in high demand, with 15% of all orders requiring cross-border delivery.
(Shopify Blog)
Black Friday Discount Data
Black Friday discounts in 2021 averaged 24%.
Experts note that the discounts in 2021 were below industry projections and between 2% and 4% lower than the averages in the previous few years. According to Adobe’s holiday season forecasts, computers saw the biggest discount at 25%, followed closely by electronics at 22%. Other heavily discounted product categories included appliances and toys at 16% each, TVs and clothing at 15% each, and sporting goods at an average Black Friday discount of 14%.
(Bloomberg, Adobe Blog)
Black Friday didn’t have the best deals on major product categories.
According to Adobe, all major product categories had more significant discounts during the 2021 holiday shopping season than those offered on Black Friday. For example, the best day to buy a computer was November 2, when prices were 14.3% down on average. Household appliances were most discounted on December 1 (-10.72%), the best deals on toys were available the day after Black Friday (-24.32%), and the best day to buy clothes was December 31 (-20.88%).
(Adobe Resource Center)
37.3% of US retailers offered sitewide discounts on Black Friday 2021.
A Forrester Research study of online Black Friday sales found that 28 out of 75 observed retailers across different categories offered their visitors sitewide discounts. Sitewide sales were most common among fashion retailers (14 out of 33) and least common among multicategory retailers (just 1 out of 7). Overall, 70 out of 75 studied retailers (93.3%) offered Black Friday deals on their websites, most of them in the fashion, home, and health and beauty categories.
(Forrester Research)
Only 60% of US brands planned a Black Friday promotion in 2021.
The share of retailers who planned a promotion was 17% down year-over-year, Black Friday stats reveal. According to a 2021 survey, 80% of retailers felt that Black Friday sales were an outdated concept that devalued the brand and negatively affected consumer loyalty. And while 78% of marketers said that Cyber Monday was no longer relevant to their business, 76% said their brands would limit their shopping season deals and discounts to the Black Friday weekend.
(Sitecore)
Black Friday Stats for the UK
Brits spent $9.94 billion on Black Friday 2021.
The spend — which totaled £9.2 billion in local currency — was the highest ever recorded on Black Friday. According to Barclaycard, one of the nation’s largest payment card issuers, the number of transactions was up by 23% from 2020 and 3% higher than pre-pandemic 2019. At the same time, credit card issuer Nationwide reported 5.95 million purchases by 5 pm on Black Friday. This marked a 26% increase over 2020 and an impressive 24% increase over 2019.
(The Guardian)
56% of Brits made at least one purchase on Black Friday 2021.
Black Friday statistics show that 55% of UK consumers spent more on this shopping holiday in 2021 than in 2020, with 22% saying they spent “far more.” Amazon was by far the most popular retailer among Brits, with 64% of consumers saying they shopped there. Other leading retailers included Argos (28%) and eBay (19%). And while 42% of UK consumers decided to buy clothes and apparel, 26% took advantage of Black Friday deals on computer and gaming equipment.
(Toluna)
69% of Brits bought a gift for themselves on Black Friday 2021.
After months of lockdowns and pandemic-related fears, Brits were eager to treat themselves and others during the 2021 holiday shopping season. A survey of Black Friday trends found that 69% used the deals to buy something for themselves (up 13% year-over-year), while 60% bought gifts for their family members. Another 23% of Brits said they also bought gifts for their partners, and 20% took advantage of the seasonal discounts to purchase gifts for their friends.
(Toluna)
Black Friday Statistics FAQ
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Black Friday Stats: The Takeaway
Although the Black Friday online revenue in 2021 was 1.3% down from 2020’s record high, retailers managed to largely maintain the previous year’s unprecedented growth. The key highlight of 2021 was the return of consumers to physical retail stores following the pandemic.
Black Friday statistics reflect the popularity of this shopping holiday, not just in the US but in the UK, too. And even though the consumer interest in Black Friday doesn’t seem to be fading, retailers are rethinking their strategies. On that note, there were considerably fewer discounts in 2021, and they were lower than in previous years — a trend we might see continue in 2022.
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