Black Friday 2024: In-Store Shopping Breaks Records Amid E-commerce Growth

Executive Summary:
Black Friday 2024 saw a resurgence in in-store shopping, with a record-breaking 126 million consumers visiting brick-and-mortar locations, surpassing 2023 rsquo;s 121.4 million. While the number of online shoppers declined to 124.3 million from 134.2 million last year, e-commerce spending reached new highs, with Cyber Week sales totaling $41.1 billion mdash;a year-over-year increase of 8.2%.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) attributes the in-store surge to consumers rsquo; desire for post-COVID holiday experiences, while higher-income households continue to drive e-commerce spending. Shoppers spent an average of $235 on gifts over the weekend, up $8 from last year, with holiday spending expected to grow 2.5%-3.5%, reaching up to $989 billion.

Cold weather spurred demand for seasonal goods, benefitting retailers like Walmart, Sephora, and Dick rsquo;s Sporting Goods. However, slower traffic was reported at stores like J.C. Penney and Kohl rsquo;s. Adobe reported record Cyber Monday sales of $13.3 billion, marking the largest shopping day ever, driven by discounts on electronics, toys, and apparel.

Despite fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the robust mix of in-store activity and online growth positions retailers to meet or exceed fourth-quarter expectations.

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