The Black Friday weekend drew a record of 203 million shoppers, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics. The five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday saw higher engagement both in stores and online compared with last year and surpassed all previous records.
Consumers visited stores and websites throughout the weekend, with Black Friday remaining the most popular shopping day. More than 80 million people shopped in stores that day, while nearly 86 million shopped online. Activity continued through the weekend with notable growth on Sunday, which saw the largest increase in both in-store and online traffic. Cyber Monday remained a strong draw for online shoppers, with more than 75 million participating, and mobile devices serving as the most common way to browse and buy.
Shoppers favored supermarkets and online platforms as their top destinations, followed by department stores, clothing, and discount stores. Nearly all shoppers made holiday-related purchases, with average spending rising to its highest level since 2019. Clothing and accessories were the most purchased gifts, followed by toys and books.
The survey also found that most consumers have begun their holiday shopping but still have more than half left to complete as the season continues.
