43 Black Friday Statistics Needed for Your Ecommerce Store in 2024

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Black Friday has become a retail phenomenon in recent decades, prompting images of queues snaking around the block and fights over the last bargain left on the shelf. But it’s now just as big, if not bigger, online than it is offline. This means that if you’ve built an online store, you can’t afford to ignore it.

Falling on the day after US Thanksgiving every year, Black Friday marks the start of the holiday shopping season and stores offer huge discounts on stock. Deals usually continue running through the weekend until Monday, now known as Cyber Monday.

In 2024, Black Friday falls on November 29th and as we count down to the big day, we’ve put together this bumper list of Black Friday statistics that should help you prepare seasonal sales plans for your own ecommerce store.

Key Black Friday Statistics

Black Friday Sales Numbers

  1. Black Friday online sales grew 3.5% to $65.3 billion globally in 2022.
  2. Black Friday sales are expected to hit $9.8 billion in America alone in 2023.
  3. Online sales for Cyber Week (the week surrounding Black Friday) grew 2% in 2022, reaching $281 billion worldwide.
  4. Black Friday was the biggest day for in-store shopping in the U.S. in 2022, reaching 72.9 million consumers.
  5. The average American shopper spent $218 on Black Friday 2022.
  6. A record number of Americans shopped either online or in person during Cyber Week with shoppers reaching 196.7 million.
  7. Buy Now Pay Later grew 85% for online orders during Cyber Week, compared to the week before in 2022.
  8. Buy Online Pick Up In Store grew 9% in 2022.

Black Friday Ecommerce Statistics

  1. Online shoppers spent an impressive $9.12 billion online on Black Friday 2022.
  2. Ecommerce sales accounted for 42% of total Black Friday sales in 2022.
  3. The most popular Black Friday devices on Amazon in 2022 were smart home hubs and Apple AirPods.
  4. The top discounts in 2022 appeared in product categories apparel, makeup and skincare, and luxury handbags and clothes.
  5. 76% of Shopify online shoppers were looking for high-quality products that last in 2022, as opposed to fast fashion and throwaway items.
  6. Shopify announced a record-setting Black Friday with sales of $3.36 billion – that’s an increase of 17% over 2021.
  7. The average Black Friday discount is 25%.
  8. 56% of American online shoppers in 2022 took advantage of early deals on Thanksgiving, the day before Black Friday.
  9. Consumers spent $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday 2022.
  10. The key times for shoppers shopping for Black Friday deals in the US were midnight and 2pm.
  11. Credit cards remained the most popular payment method, with 49.4% of online shoppers using them to make a purchase in 2022. Debit cards and PayPal were also popular Black Friday payment methods.
A list of the 5 main ecommerce statistics businesses need to know to prepare for Black Friday.
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Black Friday Mobile Statistics

  1. A record 48% (up from 44% in 2021) of online sales and 78% of web traffic came from smartphones on Black Friday 2022.
  2. The conversion rate was higher for desktop users in 2022 at 5.6% compared to 3.3% on mobile devices.
  3. 13% of Black Friday online shoppers used Apple Pay to complete their transactions in 2022, up from 8% the previous year.
  4. 84% of shoppers will use their smartphone to keep an eye out for deals during the 2023 holiday shopping season.
  5. The most popular Black Friday shopping apps in 2022 were Amazon, Walmart, and Target.
A list of the 5 main mobile commerce statistics businesses need to know to prepare for Black Friday.

Black Friday Around The World

  1. Black Friday is celebrated in over 30 countries around the world.
  2. The United States is the largest Black Friday market, followed by the United Kingdom and Canada.
  3. In 2022, Black Friday sales in China reached $12.9 billion.
  4. The most popular Black Friday products in China are electronics, apparel, and cosmetics.
  5. 70% of shoppers in the UK said they planned to shop on Black Friday in order to get a good deal.
  6. 40% of Belgian customers shopped for apparel and shoes on Black Friday 2022.
  7. Cross-border orders worldwide were 15% of total orders last year.
A list of the 5 main global statistics businesses need to know to prepare for Black Friday.

Black Friday Marketing Statistics

  1. 74% of shoppers begin their Black Friday shopping journey without a specific item in mind.
  2. 141 million marketing emails were sent on Black Friday 2022.
  3. The most effective Black Friday marketing channels are email, social media, and paid search.
  4. Since mid-August there has been a 15% weekly rise in search volume for Black Friday-related deals, according to Google.
  5. Personalized email campaigns achieved on average: a 30.32% higher Open Rate and a 49.66% higher Click Rate than non-personalized campaigns.
  6. Paid search was the biggest sales driver in 2022, accounting for 28% of online sales.
  7. There was a 57% global increase in chatbot messages on Black Friday 2022.
  8. 84% of Gen Z customers think Black Friday deals are good value.
Google rend graph showing an upward trend of searches for the term "black friday"
Google Trends shows the increase in people searching for the term “Black Friday” over the past 90 days in the USA.

Popular Black Friday Product Categories

  1. Toys saw the largest discounts in 2022.
  2. The most popular Black Friday game consoles in 2022 were the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5.
  3. Lego, Hot Wheels, Paw Patrol, and LOL Surprise were the most popular toys on Black Friday 2022.
  4. Airpods, smart speakers, digital cameras, and Macbooks were popular electronic items on Black Friday 2022. 
Lego's website showing Black Friday bundles of product deals
Lego does a great job of highlighting its upcoming Black Friday sets on its website. We also love the addition of Black Friday FAQs to help with common customer queries!

Further Reading

Inspired by these Black Friday Statistics? Why not take a look at our top holiday marketing campaigns that you can try throughout the holiday shopping season?

Optimizing Your Ecommerce Store For Black Friday 2024

Optimizing your ecommerce store can help to boost your Black Friday sales numbers. Here are some tips you should implement ahead of Black Friday 2024:

  • Make sure your website is fast. People have deals to bag and they don’t want to hang around and risk missing out. If your website takes even a fraction too long to load, they’ll move on to the next store. Fast website load times can also help your search engine rankings, getting your products found more easily in Google.
  • Ensure your site is optimized for mobile. Plenty of Black Friday shoppers hunt for deals on the go and shop from their mobile devices so ensure your website is mobile-friendly and fully responsive.
  • You’ll face a lot of competition for customers on Black Friday so offer the very best discounts and deals that you can afford.
  • Promote your Black Friday deals early and often. Key marketing channels include email, social media, and paid search.
  • Make it easy for customers to find the products they’re looking for. Optimize your product listings and descriptions for keywords and ensure your website’s search functions are up to scratch.
  • Offer free shipping and easy returns. With so much online competition, offering free shipping can often be the deciding factor that persuades a shopper to complete their purchase.
  • Be prepared. You’ll likely receive more customer service inquiries over Cyber Weekend so make sure you have the staff and resources to handle them and provide great online customer service. Implement a response plan so that everyone is on the same page. It’s also a good idea to make a plan for your returns management too.

Discover more ways to boost your sales and prepare your store with our full Black Friday Cyber Monday Ecommerce Guide, which has tons of helpful tips and advice for making the most of Black Friday.

Black Friday Statistics: Summary

…and breathe!

We know that was a lot of Black Friday stats and numbers to get through but considering how huge Black Friday (and Cyber Week, Cyber Monday, and Cyber Weekend for that matter) has become in recent years, these Black Friday statistics offer valuable insight for ecommerce brands.

Understanding how customers shopped last year and how they’re predicted to shop this year is key if you want to target them with the right deals at the right time, boosting your conversions and those all-important product margins.

Are you planning any Black Friday deals? Let us know in the comments below!

Don’t forget you can shop for some deals yourself which is why we’ve put together these guides to the best Black Friday website builder deals and Black Friday web hosting deals that we’ll be updating right up until the big day!

FAQs

Black Friday 2024 falls on November 29th but remember, a lot of ecommerce stores start their deals the day before (on US Thanksgiving) and keep them running through the weekend until Cyber Monday.
You definitely don’t need to run discounts on Black Friday (and you should only discount what you can afford) however Black Friday can be a great way of driving new customers to your website and increasing the chance of future purchases and lifetime spending.
You need to spread the word about your Black Friday deals far and wide. People are starting to research deals earlier than ever so don’t wait to get your marketing started and be sure to make use of channels such as email, social media, paid search, and SEO.
Written by:
Black and white headshot of Lucy Nixon smiling at the camera
I’ve been a content writer for Website Builder Expert since 2021. Through almost a decade in the digital marketing industry, I’ve built up knowledge on everything from growing ecommerce businesses to building websites. I love breaking down tricky topics into digestible and engaging content for readers. Breaking down the jargon and uncovering the best platforms, tools, and strategies, I’m a meticulous researcher who’s committed to providing our readers with tips and advice that’s tried and tested.

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