What: Black Friday online sales reached record highs in 2025, while in-store results showed mixed performance and shifting consumer behaviors.

Why it is important: The mixed performance reveals how inflation, tariffs, and evolving shopper expectations are reshaping holiday retail strategies.

Black Friday 2025 marked a new milestone for online retail, with U.S. e-commerce sales reaching a record $11.8 billion, up 9.1% year-over-year, and global online sales climbing to $79 billion. This surge was fueled by competitive deals, a significant increase in AI-driven traffic, and consumers’ growing preference for shopping from home. AI played a transformative role, with traffic to retail sites up 805% and billions in sales attributed to AI agents, signaling a shift in how shoppers discover and purchase products. Despite the robust online performance, physical store results were less clear, with some analytics firms reporting declines in foot traffic and others noting stabilisation or growth in specific segments such as department stores. Inflation and tariffs contributed to higher average selling prices, even as order volumes dipped, prompting consumers to shop more strategically and retailers to adjust promotional tactics. Gen Z shoppers were notably active in stores, drawn by targeted deals, but overall, the era of impulse buying appeared to be waning in favour of calculated, value-driven purchases.

IADS Notes: The 2025 Black Friday results mirror trends observed in December 2024, where global online sales rose by 5% and AI adoption for deal-hunting reached 38% (Liontree, December 2024). Department stores and experiential retail investments drove localised foot traffic gains (WWD, December 2024), while overall store visits declined, highlighting the need for omnichannel strategies (VMSD, December 2024). The evolution of Black Friday into a multi-week event, shaped by inflation and tariffs, was further explored in Forbes (October 2025) and Inside Retail (November 2025), confirming that retailers must adapt to economic pressures and changing consumer expectations.

Black Friday data shows online sales strong, store results mixed