The holiday season is off to an outstanding start. During the five-day shopping weekend, from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, a record 189.6 million U.S. shoppers went to stores and retail websites, 14% more than last year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytic. Some 124 million shopped in stores and 142.2 million online, while 75.7 million did both, according to the report. And, for the first time, Black Friday (93.2 million shoppers) beat Cyber Monday (83.3 million) as the busiest digital day as well.

The UK's troubled retail sector has been given a boost by Black Friday promotions, figures indicate. Barclaycard, which processes about £1 of every £3 spent in the UK, said it was an "outstanding" Black Friday compared with last year. It said transaction value was up 16.5% compared with last year, with the volume of transactions up 7.2%. It added that Cyber Monday had also got off to a strong start, with transaction volume up by 6.9% compared with 2018.

But this year's Black Friday weekend has also been marked by the increasing concern about the impact of fast fashion and consumption on the environment. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of consumers say they're thinking more carefully about the environmental impact of their Black Friday/Cyber Monday purchases according to KPMG research. Therefore retailers have to adapt. Some brands in the UK did no discounts at all but offered free-shipping or free instore workshop & events instead. In France, ecologists groups even blocked an Amazon warehouse to protest against Black Friday.