Americans Spent Almost $10 Billion On Black Friday

Author Morty

November 27th, 2023 2:09 PM

People getting their Black Friday deals.

Everyone waits until Black Friday to score those amazing deals for holiday gifts. But how much is actually spent on the one day? You’ll be shocked to know it’s almost $10 billion dollars, according to research.

Let’s Wake Up Early And Spend Some Money!

Americans spent almost $10 billion dollars online this past Black Friday. It was about $9.8 billion total. Compared to last year, it was about 7.5% more, according to Adobe Analytics, reported on by eCommerce Bytes. In this report, they say Mastercard saw a 1% bump at physical stores this year.

How Were Purchases Made?

If you look at all the online purchases done on black Friday, over half of those purchases were done over our phones, the report says. They say that tends to mean a lot of those purchases were impulse buys. So maybe, many of those purchases were not actually gifts.

Now what if you didn’t have the money? Lots of people take advantage of credit cards or a lot of stores have “Buy Now, Pay Later” options. These payment methods went up by 47% from last year, the report stated.

World Wide Sales Tallies

Americans are not the only ones taking advantage of the great deals on Black Friday. In fact a lot of the world did. People worldwide spent more than $70 billion during Black Friday. The most popular items bought were electronics, toys, and video games, eCommerce Bytes reported.

But people don’t just wait for Black Friday to arrive. A lot of shopping is done on Thanksgiving Day. In fact Thanksgiving Day has grown in popularity for online shopping. According to Newsweek, Americans bought $5.6 billion worth of stuff online last Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). That’s about 5.5% higher than last year.

Is Cyber Monday Even Needed?

While most of the shopping is done on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a lot of people have missed deals and still want to get in on them. That’s why Cyber Monday became a thing. While Adobe Analytics hasn’t done research on it, people are just as eager to partake in deals, savings and bundles without leaving their home.

We have more on this in today’s edition of a Few Things You Should Know!

Morty is the Executive Producer of “The Mike And Carla Morning Show” on 96.3 KKLZ. He's been a part of the show and station for 5 years. Aside from producing the morning show, he has served as production director for over 20 years. Those commercials you hear between the music, he produced a lot of them for Las Vegas! He loves music, playing guitar, all things Vegas Golden Knights, the Steelers, and his English Bulldog, Squish! He will talk forever with you on any of these things! Morty writes about peculiar news stories and Las Vegas happenings.

Surprise! The Best Black Friday Deals Aren't Where You Think

When Black Friday comes around every year, millions of people flock to Amazon or Wal-Mart to snag a deal. But according to some financially savvy individuals, that’s not where the best deals are hiding.

Amazon is a lot of people’s go-to for shopping at any time of the year. And tenfold when it comes to Black Friday deals. Especially since they start those deals even before Thanksgiving. Plus, the retail mogul is very savvy about getting shoppers to their websites. So many other websites have at least one link that will take you back to Amazon. And, if you’re like me, at least half those links will end up in a purchase.

Many of us have gotten use to turning to Amazon when we need to buy something. In fact, I’ve seen people give up when they can’t find something on the site, thinking it must not exist. So, yeah, some of us have gotten a little tunnel-visioned when it comes to shopping anywhere else. And when we do, it’s usually large superstores like Wal-Mart or Target. These stores especially have decades-long reputations for rowdy crowds after Thanksgiving.

But it turns out some of our favorite retailers’ Black Friday sales aren’t actually that good.

The personal finance website, Wallethub, says that the average Black Friday discount is 35 percent below the regular price of an item. And even some marketing-brilliant stores, that advertise huge sales, might not be meeting that standard for Black Friday. In fact, some of our favorite places to find a deal on the biggest shopping day of the year, aren’t saving us that much. According to this study by Wallethub, there are other places we should be looking first if we really want to save big on Black Friday.

There are some retail locations in the study that we don’t have here in Las Vegas, but have an online store where you can still get those savings.

So here’s the breakdown of where you should be shopping if you want the best Black Friday sales. -Wendy Rush, 96.3KKLZ

5. Target
Target Store Front

Target discounts their Black Friday deals at about 32.7% below regular price, according to Wallethub. Which actually fell below the standard 35% discount rate suggested by the finance experts on the website. However, it was the closest to that mark compared to Amazon (typically offering 28.48% off) and Wal-Mart (typically offering 26.88% off).
4. Kohl's - Average Discount: 48.8%
Kohl’s Department Store

Kohl’s already has such great prices year round, it’s hard to imagine they’d go even lower for a sale. But according to Wallethub, Kohl’s has the fourth highest discounts when it comes to Black Friday shopping. At an average of 48.8% off regular prices, you can save some serious cash for your holiday gift giving this year.
3. Belk - Average Discount: 54.8%
Appliance Shopping

Belk is a department store with physical locations in only 16 states. All near the East Coast. But their website offers delivery in the other states. Belk landed on Wallethub’s list at the third-best Black Friday deals, offering an average of 54.8% off. Wallethub says to look into Belk especially if you are in the market for a new appliance. As consumers can save an average of 60% there.
2. Macy's - Average Discount: 58.2%
Macy’s Store Front

Macy’s is a great place to go this Black Friday if you are looking for some hot deals. Though the average discount at Macy’s is 58.2%, according to Wallethub, some of their holiday deals can get up to 85%. You should definitely plan a trip to a Macy’s if you are looking specifically for jewelry.
1. JC Penney - Average Disount: 59.1%
Department Store Shopping

Suprise! JC Penney is actually the place to go this year if you want the best Black Friday deals, according to Wallethub. With an average discount on 59.1%, you can save a lot shopping here for your Christmas gifts. Check it out especially if you’re in the market for jewelry, clothing or appliances.