Black Friday statistics 2019

86% of Americans are planning to spend their hard-earned cash on pre-Christmas sales such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles Day according to the latest research from finder.com.
Research shows that although 12% more Americans are planning to partake in 2019 pre-Christmas sales than in 2018, the average adult is expected to spend about $3 billion less than the previous year with the average adult expecting to drop $397.50 (roughly $87 billion).

• Methodology

  • We calculated these figures from a survey of 1,759 American adults who reported they participate in pre-Christmas sales events (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles Day) commissioned by finder.com and conducted by global research provider Pureprofile in October 2019.

Past Black Friday Stats

• 2018

  Black Friday 2018 is expected to be bigger than ever, with 74% of Americans planning to open their wallets on either Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to the latest research from finder.com.

  The average adult is expected to drop $483.18 on the shopping holiday of holidays, which equates to $90.14 billion — up $30.57 billion from 2017’s projected spend of $59.57 billion.

  Men hunting for a deal

  While stereotypes might have you thinking that women are more likely than men to shop ’til they drop, slightly more men say they’ll brave the crowds to hunt for deals this year. Some 77% of men say they plan to shop over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, versus 71% of women.

  Despite the mere 6% difference between the genders, men are expected to spend nearly double that of women, budgeting an average $626.44 compared with $342.50 for women.

  Gen X is livin’ large

  Of the generations, Gen X plans to spend $592.83 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That’s higher than the average $560.17 those in Gen Y says they’ll spend in 2018 and more than double the $247.92 reported by baby boomers.

  Gen X may plan to spend big on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but more members of Gen Y say they’ll open their wallets over the retail holiday. Roughly 87% of Gen Y says they’ll buy something on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, versus 79% of Gen X and only 55% of boomers who say the same.

  Couples plan to spend more

  At 78%, those who are married or in a domestic partnership are more likely than other relationship statuses to spend this Black Friday. This year, couples say they plan to spend an average $535.81.

  Those who’ve never married are the next group most likely to splurge, with 73% saying they expect to spend an average $468.40, followed by those who are separated, of whom 71% expect to spend an average $406.05. Rounding out relationships are the 61% of divorcees who expect to spend $334.23 and 50% of widows who expect to spend $182.65.

  It pays to be an only child

  When it comes to families, 84% of parents with one child say they plan to spend $647.37 over the extended retail holiday. It’s not the highest amount people are planning to spend — that mantle is held by those with three kids at $696.85 — but it could mean there’s more money to go around with fewer siblings taking your share.

  Paying the rent means less money for shopping

  How much you’ll dole out over Black Friday and Cyber Monday may come down to whether you rent or own. About 71% of renters say they plan to spend an average $275.32. Compare that with the 73% of homeowners who plan to spend an average $556.69 this retail holiday.

  Perhaps not surprisingly, 83% of those who still live with family say they’ll drop close to double the amount that renters plan to spend — a high $611.94.

  Work hard, spend hard

  People with full-time jobs say they’re all in on Black Friday 2018, with 85% expecting to spend an average $734.05 on the big sales. Students are just as likely to take advantage of Black Friday sales as those with full-time jobs (85%), but they’ll spend about 60% less — or an average $296.50.

  Wisconsin to spend a lot of cheddar

  It sounds like those in and around the Great Lakes might have the deepest reservoirs of cash, with Wisconsinites saying they plan to milk Black Friday sales for all they’re worth at an average $1,392.60 each. The folks from America’s Dairyland are followed by Texans ($1,171.91) and New Yorkers ($878.71).

  While those from Wisconsin are expected to spend the most on average, it’s New Yorkers who top the list of those who plan to shop the sales, with 85% saying they’ll buying something, followed by Illinois (83%) and California (80%).

  Do you regret your shopping spree? You’re not alone!

  An estimated 52% of people have purchased something on sale that they later regretted.
  The average amount spent per item was $1,006.94, totaling a whopping $132.7 billion in remorseful discounted purchases in just the past year.

  Gender
  Men (58%) are more likely women (48%) to regret a shopping purchase. On average, women regret purchases of about $287.24, while for men, the amount is a staggering $1,589.16.

  Generation
  Of the generations, baby boomers regret the highest amount of purchases — an average $2,181.37. Compared that to Gen Y’s $713.50 and Gen X’s $693.58 in regretted purchases.
  Almost 1 in 3 Gen Yers — or 64% — have purchased something they later regretted, compared with 54% of Gen X and 37% of boomers.

  Household income
  When it comes to household income, those with lower incomes tend to be less likely to purchase sale items they regret. And when they do, they are more likely to spend less per item compared to those with higher incomes.

  Household income	Likelihood of sales purchase regret	Amount spent per purchase
  $0 to $25,000	41%	$192.21
  $25,000 to $50,000	46%	$656.07
  $50,000 to $75,000	52%	$564.60
  $75,000 to $100,000	57%	$1,452.36
  $100,000 to $150,000	63%	$774.60
  $150,000 to $300,000	79%	$3,109.83
  $300,000+	65%	$1,840.18

  Census Bureau monthly retail trade stats

  • Total adjusted retail sales last November were $435.5 billion. That’s a 7.0% increase from November 2016 ($408.1 billion).
  • November total retail sales have grown by $94.39 billion compared to a decade ago — to $453.5 billion in November 2017 from $341.1 billion in November 2007.
  • The average growth in retail sales for November each year since 2010 (after the financial crisis) is 4%.
  • Projected total retail sales for November this year are estimated to be $466.01 billion, according to finder.com.
  • Americans are expected to spend about $61 billion over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend — or 13.09% of November’s total forecast sales.

  Source: finder.com; census.gov

  Methodology
  • We calculated these figures from a survey of 2,089 American adults commissioned by finder.com and conducted by global research provider Pureprofile in November 2018.
  • We included only states with 35+ respondents — an accurate sample size — in this analysis.
  • Monthly retail trade stats were calculated through Census Bureau’s Month Retail Trade Report.

• 2017

  This year Black Friday falls on November 24, 2017. As the biggest shopping day in America, it’s sure to cause a rush with heavy discounts and one-off deals.

  In fact, Americans plan to spend $59.57 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases this year alone.

  Do you regret your shopping spree? You’re not alone

  Sales regret

  An estimated 43.5% of us have purchased something on sale that they later regretted.
  The amount we spent for each item averaged $431, totaling a whopping $46 billion in regretful discounted purchases over the past year.

  Type of sale purchases

  • The types of items people are most likely to purchase on sale and later regret are technology or electronics (30.2%), followed by clothing and accessories at 23.4% and household items at 14.7%.
  • Other categories include food and drink at 6.5%, shoes at 5.1%, music at 4.4%, cosmetics and fragrances at 4.3% and literature at 2.2%.
  • The average spent per sale item on technology and electronics was $285, on clothing and accessories was $87 and on household items was $244.

  Gender
  Though women (44.3%) are more likely than men (42.7%) to purchase items on sale that they later regret, men ($526) tend to spend more per item on their regretful purchases than women ($343).

  Generation
  Millennials lead the generations in purchasing sale items they later regret. More than half of all millennials (51.3%), 45.9% of Gen X and 36.0% of baby boomers have made sale purchases they regret.

  But when it comes to the amount spent, millennials appear to be the most conservative generation. Millennials spent an average of $236 per sale item they regretted, followed by baby boomers at $413 and Gen X at $585.

  Household income
  Generally, households with lower incomes are less likely to purchase sale items they regret. When they do, they tend to spend less per item compared with those at higher incomes.

  Household income	Likelihood of sales purchase regret	Amount spent per purchase
  $0 to $25,000	39.8%	$339
  $25,000 to $50,000	42.1%	$303
  $50,000 to $75,000	47.4%	$326
  $75,000 to $100,000	48.8%	$568
  $100,000 to $150,000	44.8%	$520

  The psychology of sales

  Our study finds that 65.2% of people have purchased an item on sale that they wouldn’t have purchased otherwise. The average amount spent per item was $641.

  Gender
  As with sale regrets, women (68.2%) have a higher likelihood of purchasing items on sale that they wouldn’t have purchased at full price. In comparison, men sit at 62.0%.

  Women spent an average of $412 on such items, while men spent an average $903.

  Generation
  Once again, millennials are more likely to purchase an item on sale that they wouldn’t have purchased otherwise, but they spent less per item. Three in four millennials (76.0%), 65.7% of Gen X and 57.5% of baby boomers have made such purchases.

  Millennials spent an average $499, baby boomers spent $677 and Gen X spent $716 per item.

  How long do we hold off buying?
  During the lead up to the big annual mega sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s common to hold off spending in anticipation. An estimated 117 million American adults (47.8%) deferred dropping dollars on clothing, electronics, major appliances and furniture while waiting for the release of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Better safe than sorry, right?

  Of those hanging out to see the bargains, a one- to two-month wait is the most common (14.7%), followed by a few weeks (13.8%), three to six months (9.8%) and a patient seven to eleven months (3.7%). Some 5.9% of us are willing to wait an entire year!

  Census Bureau monthly retail trade stats

  • Total retail sales last November was $416.1 billion, that’s a 5.0% increase from November 2015 ($396.2 billion).
  • November total retail sales have grown by $74.3 billion compared to a decade ago ($341.8 billion in November 2007 to $416.1 billion in November 2016).
  • Average growth in retail sales for November each year since 2010 (after the financial crisis) is 4.6%.
  • Projected total retail sales for November this year is estimated to be $435.3 billion, according to finder.com.
  • Americans are expected to spend about $60 billion across the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, that’s 13.7% of the total November forecasted sales for the month.

  How many of us are planning on purchasing this year?

  While 117 million of us are eagerly waiting to see what’s on offer come November 24, an estimate of more than 108 million American adults (44.1%) are confident that they’ll be parting with their cash over Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year. But how does that translate by demographic?

  Gender

  A higher proportion of women intend to spend money on Black Friday sales this year (46.5%) compared with men (41.6%).

  Gender	Plans to spend money	Doesn’t plan to spend money
  Women	46.5%	53.5%
  Men	41.6%	58.4%

  Source: finder.com

  Generation

  Predictably, the younger you are, the more likely you’re going to splurge this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, 61.9% of millennials plan to spend money, followed by 49.5% of Gen X and 27.0% of baby boomers.

  State

  Of qualifying states, Georgia came in first of those planning to spend (52.9%), followed by Wisconsin (51.2%) and Illinois (50.7%).

  Household income

  Interestingly, those with an annual household income of $50,000 to $75,000 intend to spend the most on upcoming sales compared with any other income bracket, while those earning between $150,000 and $300,000 top the list for least likely to spend.

  Marital status

  Not surprisingly, singles plan on treating themselves the most (51.6%), followed by those married or in a domestic partnership (43.9%), those separated (41.2%), divorcees (33.5%) and widows (26.9%).

  Marital status	Plans to spend money	Doesn’t plan to spend money
  Divorced	66.5%	33.5%
  Married or domestic partnership	56.1%	43.9%
  Separated	58.8%	41.2%
  Single, never married	48.4%	51.6%
  Widowed	73.1%	26.9%

  Source: finder.com

Ask the experts…

Ana Serafin Smith

Senior Director, Media Relations

National Retail Federation

Some of the trends we are seeing this season includes starting Black Friday deals as early as November 1st, special promotions online and in-store unique to those customers that like to shop on both venues or just one!, offering gift cards as an incentive to buy some of the hot items of the season to even special store hours on Thanksgiving and Black Friday for those that want to get into the stores, check off that holiday list and walk off that Turkey.

Thanksgiving weekend is officially the half way mark for the holiday shopping season. Consumers see this weekend as a cultural experience and family tradition that will continue for years to come.

Maggie Baker

Psychologist, financial therapist and author of Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices and What to Do About it.

President, Baker & Baker Associates

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude AND it signals the start of the holiday gift seeking and giving.

Who doesn’t like a good deal? Anticipation of those deep price cuts and the rush to get there first heightens the excitement and increases the frenzy to GET THE DEAL, NOW! Excitement clouds this reality: even though you are getting great deals, you are still spending money. You are vulnerable to spending more in the excitement of now. Make a list of what you need or want and stick to it. Later, the bills won’t then seem like such a downer!

For media inquiries:

Allan Givens
Public Relations Manager
203-818-2928
allan.givens@finder.com

Nicole Gallina
Communications Coordinator
347-677-4931
nicole.gallina@finder.com

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