Black Friday saw intense bidding wars between online retailers Temu and Shein, causing a spike in marketing costs. The companies competed for visibility on the critical shopping day, targeting each other’s keywords. This escalated the “cost per click” for certain Google search terms.
Despite the competition, shoppers spent a record $10.8 billion online on Black Friday, over 10% more than the previous year. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., consumers spent $11.3 million per minute. The embrace of digital shopping tools like mobile wallets and buy-now-pay-later options helped drive this growth.
In-store traffic was down 8.2% compared to 2023.
Promotions escalate Black Friday competition
However, retailers offering deep discounts of at least 40% drew more shoppers to their physical locations.
Popular purchases included makeup, skincare products, hair care items, electronics, clothing, and home goods. Cyber Monday is expected to remain the biggest shopping day of the season, with Adobe forecasting a record $13.2 billion in spending, up 6% from the previous year. Discounts on electronics and apparel will reach their highest levels on Monday.
The term “Black Friday” originated in 1950s Philadelphia, coined by local police to describe the chaos of the day after Thanksgiving. In the 1980s, the term took on a more positive meaning as businesses used it to describe the day their finances shifted “into the black,” indicating a move from loss to profit due to increased sales. Black Friday 2024 will take place on November 29, offering some of the best deals and sales ahead of the holidays.
