About 200 million Americans shopped during the so-called “Black Friday” discount period, a record high for purchases in the United States, the Retail Federation (NRF) announced Tuesday.
This figure, a small 1.9% increase in visitor numbers compared to 2022, when the NRF expected a decline (-7.4%), is, according to the association, a sign of “consumer resilience” in an economy that There are signs that the steam is running out.
The period under consideration ranges from the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday) to “Cyber Monday”, the following Monday, which is now a traditional online advertising day, to “Black Friday” itself, Friday.
According to the NRF, consumers spent an average of $321 each, putting the total at over $60 billion, a figure the association contacted by AFP declined to confirm.
NRF President Matthew Shay attributed the success of this series particularly to the promotions provided by retailers as well as the favorable weather.
“Consumption has weakened compared to the last three years,” which saw a rush of purchases after the first months of the pandemic, the official acknowledged.
But “consumers are still strong and we expect that to continue to impact the holiday season,” Matthew Shay said.
For the period from early November to late December, the NRF expects spending to increase by 3 to 4%.
Specifically, during the five days of Thanksgiving, 121.4 million people physically visited a point of sale (-1%), which is less than the 134.2 million Americans who made online purchases (+3%), with some used both options.
Notably, transactions conducted via a smartphone or connected device have significantly decreased year-over-year (-11%).
The five most popular item types were clothing (49% of shoppers), toys (31%), gift cards (25%), books, video games and other media (23%), then hygiene and beauty products (23%). .