Black Friday worldwide - statistics and facts
Considered the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving (celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November) came to be known as Black Friday. Over the years, it became the busiest shopping day of the holiday season and the year in the country, with retailers offering special sales and offers, and stores opening particularly early. The shopping holiday has since been adopted in other parts of the world, with many consumers planning to make use of its special offers. Today, Black Friday sales can be found in retail stores in many countries and also has a strong presence online, alongside the Cyber Five.
Black Friday in different regions
Originally celebrated in the United States, Black Friday’s popularity has reached many other countries. Among them is the United Kingdom, where sales have continued to grow in recent years and shoppers are expected to spend more than 9.5 billion British pounds during Black Friday in 2024.
In some countries, however, there are other popular shopping events taking place in November that are more closely related to those regions. In China, Singles’ Day is celebrated on November 11th, and the event has grown to be one of the biggest online and offline shopping days in the world. Since 2011, Mexico has celebrated “El Buen Fin” (short for “the good weekend”) on the weekend before Mexican Revolution Day and, similarly to Black Friday, retailers offer special promotions and extended opening hours on that day.
What are the most popular Black Friday purchase categories?
Black Friday sales events attract consumers with exclusive deals and promotions. Among U.S. consumers who said they were going to shop online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the most popular products they were planning to purchase were clothing and accessories, electronics, and health & beauty items. Similarly, shoppers in European countries, such as Italy and Portugal, intended to shop for clothing and electronics.
To many, Black Friday is an occasion to purchase Christmas gifts at a lower price. With inflation's impact on consumers' day-to-day lives, consumers intend to take advantage of deals where possible. At the same time, especially U.S. consumers have been affected in their holiday shopping by tariffs.
