November 2025 Consumer Dashboard
Here are the latest insights from Goldman Sachs Research on the financial health of the US consumer.
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Black Friday 2025: How Did Consumers Spend?
December 1, 2025
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Black Friday is often considered a barometer of consumer confidence. After Thanksgiving 2025, what did Black Friday tell us about the overall health of discretionary spending in the US economy?
According to Adobe Analytics (via Forbes), online Black Friday spending increased 9.1% year over year, hitting $11.8 billion in 2025, up from last year's $10.8 billion.
Adobe Analytics also noted that AI and social media advertising significantly influenced how consumers shopped this year, with AI traffic up 805% year over year.
Top spending categories included:
- Video game consoles
- Electronics
- Home appliances
Finally, in the aftermath of Black Friday, Shopify, a popular e-commerce platform, released data regarding sales performance over the weekend. Overall, Shopify saw worldwide Black Friday sales increase 22% year over year on a constant currency basis to $6.2 billion in 2025, with sales of $5.1 million per minute during its peak period.
According to Shopify, average cart size on a constant currency basis was $117.93. Top product categories included:
- Cosmetics
- Clothing tops
- Activewear
- Fitness
- Nutrition
Black Friday 2025 brick-and-mortar checks
On Black Friday (November 28, 2025) and throughout that weekend, Goldman Sachs Research assessed sales at various retailers.
Here are the general findings.
Hardlines/Broadlines coverage
Hardlines are consumer durables, such as electronics, furniture, and tools. Broadline retailers sell a broad range of products and merchandise categories in a single facility.
Overall traffic at traditional Black Friday weekend destinations was in line to slightly better than last year, with traffic building throughout the day.
- Goldman Sachs Research noticed strong inventory levels across the board, with most stores well stocked in key items and Black Friday promotional products (although select toy categories already looked sold through).
- Toys, kids’ apparel, beauty, and footwear were the areas within stores with the most traffic, while home goods traffic was lighter.
- Promotion levels were mixed, with certain retailers more promotional year over year and others less promotional.
Softlines coverage
Softline goods are goods that are soft to the touch, like clothing and bedding.
- Traffic was strongest among a few key destinations, building throughout the day.
- Consumer demand was most focused around key promotions in apparel.
- Department store traffic was fairly modest overall.
- Inventory was well-stocked.
Website observations
Generally, online promotional activity began earlier in the week and stayed fairly consistent throughout the entire weekend, which was similar to the last several years.
Similar to last year, retailers utilized promotional tactics, such as free shipping on various select items, discounts on specific products, and large discounts on broader categories.
In apparel, while most promotions were consistent with the prior year, Goldman Sachs Research saw some shifts year over year. Brands with momentum became less promotional, and others modified their gift with purchase thresholds. For instance, one retailer increased the minimum spend to receive the free tote.
A few companies continued to offer specific in-store-only traffic-driving promotions on Black Friday. Overall, most brands with momentum had less category-driven promotions, while some companies introduced more promotions.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized professional advice. Articles on this website were commissioned and approved by Marcus by Goldman Sachs®, but may not reflect the institutional opinions of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or any of their affiliates, subsidiaries or divisions. Information and opinions expressed in this article are as of the date of this material only and subject to change without notice. This article is not a product of Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research. The information contained in this article does not constitute a recommendation from any Goldman Sachs entity to the recipient, and Goldman Sachs is not providing any financial, economic, legal, investment, accounting, or tax advice through this article or to its recipient. Neither Goldman Sachs nor any of its affiliates makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the statements or any information contained in this article and any liability therefore (including in respect of direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage) is expressly disclaimed. You are not permitted to publish, transmit, or otherwise reproduce this information, in whole or in part, in any format without the express written consent of Goldman Sachs. This foregoing restriction includes, without limitation, using, extracting, downloading or retrieving this information, in whole or in part, to train or finetune a machine learning or artificial intelligence system.
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