Black Friday Sees A Record Number Of Shoppers Despite Inflation

Despite some shoppers feeling like the Black Friday deals are not quite the deals they have been accustomed to, consumers still plan to spend an average of $567 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Nov 27, 2023 - 09:00

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Black Friday Sees A Record Number Of Shoppers Despite Inflation

Despite some shoppers feeling like the Black Friday deals are not quite the deals they have been accustomed to, consumers still plan to spend an average of $567 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to CBS News, a Deloitte report indicates that the amount is 13% more than they spent during the sales holiday last year.

Retailers have offered better sales and deeper discounts, hoping to offset higher inflation and credit card rates in their efforts to attract customers. According to Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, “Cyber Week is off to a strong start, with Thanksgiving driving a record $5.6 billion in online spend as consumers took advantage of strong discounts and continued their shopping plans, virtually.”

Despite the spending, many Americans are worried about the cost of rent and groceries outstripping their income. Neil Saunders, retail analyst at GlobalData Retail said that those worries made consumers wary of spending, telling CBS News that consumers are “a lot more cautious about spending,” as well as “more receptive to bargains” which indicated to him that they would still spend money during Black Friday sales.

According to Reuters, Black Friday deals on toys, games, and hobby gear will see their best deals since 2020, while men’s suits, outerwear, and sport coats are 8-14% cheaper than they were pre-pandemic. Also seeing the same 8-14% decrease in cost are women’s dresses and audio equipment.

At least half of shoppers will take advantage of the sales prices, planning to complete their holiday shopping during the four-day sales window. Additionally, according to the National Retail Federation, 182 million people will shop between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, which marks the most since 2017. Shoppers are also planning to avoid the crowds, spending more ($169) on online shopping than in stores ($138) on Black Friday.

On Twitter/X, many also took time to highlight the various demonstrations against Black Friday shopping as Israel and Hamas declared a temporary cessation in fighting which was urged by the United States. Many users noted that it coincided with Thanksgiving and the Black Friday consumer holiday.