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Omnichannel approach triumphs in Black Friday marketing: Email and SMS take center stage during pivotal sales period.

Steep discounts drove record Black Friday online sales: Ecommerce sales surged on the day after Thanksgiving, while brick-and-mortar sales grew just 1.1% YoY.

Thursday Night Football shows viewership metrics don鈥檛 say it all: Amazon鈥檚 Black Friday audience was far lower than expected, but DTC opportunities drove brand excitement.

Black Friday sales totaled $9.8 billion this year, according to Adobe Analytics, just below our June 2023 forecast of $10.4 billion.

31% of US internet users will shop this Black Friday. The same amount will also shop Cyber Monday, according to Deloitte.

Traditional in-store activations tied to events like Black Friday are becoming increasingly crowded and predictable. To connect more meaningfully with consumers, brands are rethinking the retail calendar to engage shoppers year-round.

鈥淭he holiday season really starts October 1,鈥� Megan Gaffey, senior director of publisher partnerships at Rakuten Advertising, said on our Tech-Talk webinar Performance Marketing Playbook for Q4 Holiday Success. 鈥淎nd you see a lot of advertisers launch Black Friday promotions the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to get ahead of the noise.鈥�

Walmart Marketplace is thriving: Black Friday and Cyber Monday were the two best-selling days on the platform, and those strong results are providing a boost to Walmart Fulfillment Services.

Cyber Monday will top $13 billion in US online sales, while Black Friday will crack $10 billion for the first time, according to our June 2023 forecast.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the travel rebound and how tech is helping it out, how Black Friday football (with a side of online shopping) performed this year, will X (formerly Twitter) go bankrupt next year, a new way to stream NBA games post-cable, what to expect from ChatGPT next year, why your passport is the color it is, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, forecasting analyst Zach Goldner, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

Calendar context: With the invention of Prime Day, Amazon created an industrywide retail holiday consumers can now count on in the summer each year. Last year, Amazon also launched its Prime Early Access Sale in October. 鈥淲e now have three key tentpoles,鈥� said our analyst Andrew Lipsman on 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail,鈥� referring to Prime Day, the Prime Early Access Sale, and Black Friday. But spring remains untapped. 鈥淎 question I get is, 鈥業s Amazon going to do more of these?鈥� And I think the answer is yes, eventually,鈥� said Lipsman.

This comes despite TikTok achieving major milestones like surpassing $100 million in single-day sales on Black Friday. Our take: The restructuring highlights TikTok鈥檚 broader struggle to reach its lofty expectations for TikTok Shop in the US鈥攁 market where expectations are high, trust is hard-won, and competition from entrenched players like Amazon and Walmart is fierce.

More patient shoppers may wait for major sales events like Black Friday rather than rushing into purchases now. Being transparent about potential price hike plans could help maintain consumer trust in a time of market uncertainty. This content is part of 蘑菇AV鈥檚 subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports.

Amazon had its most successful holiday season yet, bolstered by an extended Black Friday sales period and improved delivery speed. Amazon slightly exceeded our 2024 sales expectations by 30 basis points. As in Q3, ecommerce was again a bright spot for Target, Walmart, and Amazon as shoppers prioritized convenience, especially given the shorter holiday season.

Last year, TikTok Shop sales in the US exceeded $100 million on Black Friday, per the company. There鈥檚 a growing divide between smaller social networks. The gap in CPMs between Snapchat and other social networks continues to widen. Even though Snapchat鈥檚 CPMs grew YoY last year and in 2025鈥攁 trend we expect to continue into 2026鈥攊t hasn鈥檛 kept pace with larger counterparts.

The retailer launched its Black Friday sale a week early last year, reflecting the shift from the Cyber Five to the Cyber Dozen. It also extended its Big Spring Sale by an extra day. While Prime Day is far from the month-long extravaganza that is Singles Day, it could be headed in that direction.

TikTok Shop drove $100 million in 2024 Black Friday sales, three times more than in 2023. Our take: With TikTok鈥檚 future in the US still not resolved, the platform is looking to make ecommerce inroads in other markets. Brands will need to weigh the risks of potential US disruption against opportunities presented by its expanding global reach.

Retail ended 2024 on a high note as mobile shopping drove ecommerce sales and stores staged a comeback. Will the 2025 holiday season be as fruitful?

TikTok Shop鈥檚 over $100 million in US Black Friday sales was driven heavily by live commerce. Livestream sellers like Orca that are primarily focused on TikTok would need to pivot, while upstarts like Whatnot would make a big push for new merchants and shoppers. Social platforms, primarily Meta and YouTube, could also dive back into the live commerce space.

The pandemic put a damper on Black Friday doorbuster stampedes, and shoppers now look for more engaging experiences to bring them into stores. Activate holiday-themed pop-ups, limited-edition collaborations, and in-store services that complement retail offerings. Leverage the power of mobile connectivity.

Shoppers snapped up items like TVs, headphones, and even tires ahead of Black Friday sales. Amazon is also bullish about its holiday prospects: The company projects Q4 sales growth between 7% and 11% YoY; our forecast expects its US holiday ecommerce sales alone to grow 9.1% YoY to $112.23 billion.

Prime Video will host an NBA Black Friday game, expanding its cross-league sports strategy, pairing it with the existing NFL Black Friday matchup to drive ad opportunities during peak shopping periods. Amazon is introducing a new NBA-focused studio, offering premium branding, virtual ad placements, and custom integrations for advertisers.