Core Insights

  • Preliminary data released by Mastercard SpendingPulse on Saturday showed that Black Friday (excluding autos)e-commerce retail salesgrew 10.4% year-over-year, while physical store sales saw more modest growth of just 1.7%.
  • Early data released by RetailNext on Sunday showed that store traffic on Black Friday and Saturdaydeclined 5.3% year-over-year. The technology company previouslyreportedthat Friday store traffic fell 3.6% year-over-year, while data from Passby showed store traffic increased 1.17%.
  • By category, Mastercard found apparel spending grew 5.7%, with online up 6.1%. Salesforce U.S. online sales data showed that luxury apparel and accessories, athletic apparel, and footwear were the best-performing categories on Black Friday and the following weekend.

Deeper Analysis

The frenzy of Black Friday doorbuster shopping in stores has faded somewhat, but consumers are still spending overall.

According to Mastercard data, U.S. omnichannel retail sales on Black Friday grew 4.1% year-over-year. The credit card company in 2024reportedsaid U.S. retail sales grew 3.4%.

RetailNext data showed that compared to other U.S. regions, the Midwest saw the largest decline in store traffic on Friday and Saturday, mainly due to a blizzard in the area.

Some retailers attracted customers into stores on Black Friday with exclusive giveaways, such as Target offering select customerslimited-edition tote bags filled with products. According to the mass retailer, an average of 150 customers were waiting for the giveaway when its stores opened, with some locations seeing queues of nearly 500 people.

The performance of the apparel category during this highly anticipated shopping event comes after a turbulent year for the category. As global trade policies rapidly changed in 2025,apparel has become one of the product categories most impacted by high tariff rates。

The athletic category has also changed in recent years, with several popular brandspushing the category toward an athleisure styleand entering the traditional apparel space.

"Based on my observations, the top categories promoted by retailers I visited online or offline include apparel, fragrances, kitchen appliances (especially Ninja), and consumer electronics (especially Apple)," said Gartner analyst Brad Jashinsky in email comments Friday afternoon. "Most affordable specialty apparel retailers offered the same level of discounts during the 2025 Black Friday weekend as they did in 2024."

RetailNext data showed that apparel store traffic on Black Friday fell 0.7% year-over-year, nearly flat, but outperformed other categories such as home, health, and beauty. Meanwhile, Shopify's current datashowed that sweatpants, hoodies, and sweatshirtswere among the best-selling product categories during the Black Friday weekend.