WIRED REPORTS

Black Friday: The global shopping frenzy

4 minute read
 

Data viz

In the 1980s, a new term caught on in US retail: “Black Friday.” Falling the day after Thanksgiving (always the last Thursday of November), it’s the start of the holiday shopping season. The etymology is uncertain, but one thing is not in doubt: Black Friday has since transformed into a global phenomenon.

As the internet took US retailers into new markets, Black Friday followed. Today, Black Friday is less about in-person “doorbuster” sales, as online sales account for an ever-increasing share of profits. It has also outgrown its 24-hour confines. It is now part of a wider shopping frenzy known as Cyber Week, with Cyber Monday—on the other side of the weekend—being e-commerce’s biggest moment. In 2023, the day broke records with $12.4 billion in digital sales, compared to Black Friday’s $9.8 billion.1 Leveraging J.P. Morgan Payments Customer Insights capabilities and select Chase credit and debit card transaction data, we dissected the whole period’s e-commerce activity for the last four years.

BEFORE BLACK FRIDAY
Index, May 2019=100

Data relative to a baseline of the average spend level in May 2019

Sales go live

The start of sales season keeps getting earlier, with some retailers launching winter sales in October.

A bigger splash

Fueled by ever deeper discounting and the rise of BNPL, total spending has steadily increased.

E-commerce explosion

Cyber Monday and Cyber Week are e-commerce’s big moments, and retailers often extend promotions throughout.

Silent night

Christmas Day is the least active business day of the year.

2020
2021
2022
2023
DAILY
7-DAY AVERAGE

Data shows Chase credit and debit card spending. These are “card-not-present” transactions, indicating e-commerce.

On Friday, we wear black

Clothing is a leading Black Friday category. Here’s how it breaks down, across digital and physical retail in 2023...


Average basket value at clothing retailers


In-store VS online clothing sales


When do people buy clothes in-store?

Proportion of clothes purchases between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Clothing’s BLACK FRIDAY boost2

up in 2022 and 2023 compared to the next highest day of the year

ILLUSTRATION: NECESSITY.INK

SOURCE: WWW.JPMORGAN.COM/PAYMENTS/SOLUTIONS/INSIGHTS/CUSTOMERS