Sales and visits at brick-and-mortar stores were up slightly on Black Friday, with an overall 4.1% increase in spending across channels. Sales data comes from Mastercard SpeingPulse, which tracks brick-and-mortar and online sales representing all payment types. Black Friday spending was up 4.1% overall, but growth was driven primarily by online sales (excluding autos), which grew 10.4%. Sales at brick-and-mortar stores grew a more modest 1.7%.
Store visit data collected by pass_by at U.S. retail stores corroborated the spending data. Pass_by found a 1.17% year-over-year increase in store visits. Surprisingly, store visit growth was strongest at department stores, where visits were up 7.9%. Electronics and appliance store visits were down 1.6%, and health and personal care store visits were down 7.7%.
The National Retail Federation predicted sales increases of 3.7% to 4.2% for the full November and December holiday season across channels. If those numbers hold up, they would reflect slower growth than 2024 holiday sales, which grew 4.3% over 2023. The NRF forecast is based on models that incorporate economic indicators. It excludes automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants.
Source: ICv2
