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On today's podcast episode, we discuss how folks viewed big ticket items over the Thanksgiving holiday shopping period, how in-store foot traffic shook out, and the impact of buy now, pay later (BNPL). Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff.

Consumers spent a record-breaking $314.9 billion online globally during this year鈥檚 Cyber Five, according to Salesforce. But there鈥檚 lots more to learn beyond top-line sales numbers鈥攆rom Target's Taylor Swift-fueled Black Friday surge to Gen Z's big spending habits. Here are five key stats on Cyber Five performance you may have missed and what they mean for the rest of the holiday season.

TikTok Shop drove $100 million in Black Friday sales: Efforts to introduce social commerce to users are working, but the ban looms large.

Steep discounts drove shoppers to splurge on Black Friday: Consumers scooped up bargains across several categories, helping online sales jump 14.6% YoY the day after Thanksgiving.

In November, retailers made strategic moves across grocery, apparel, and beauty. Amazon turned Black Friday into a weeklong event and launched its Shein competitor, Haul. Meanwhile, e.l.f. Beauty strengthened its value proposition through a new Dollar General partnership, while Kroger announced plans for specialized Asian experience stores in North Texas. Here are our eight unofficial picks for the most interesting retailers in November.

UK retail footfall declined in November as shoppers waited for Black Friday deals: Poor weather and subdued confidence also weighed on traffic, souring retailers鈥� holiday prospects.

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.

For Walmart, Black Friday officially starts on November 11: The retailer will offer savings throughout the month, with exclusive deals and early sales access for online shoppers and Walmart+ members.

Target scores a major get for Black Friday: The retailer will be the exclusive merchant selling a 鈥淭aylor Swift | The Eras Tour Book鈥� and 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.鈥�

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�

Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day are also gaining traction. Nearly 2 in 3 consumers in South Korea combine online and offline shopping during holidays. Korea鈥檚 Sale Festa, its version of Black Friday, is the country鈥檚 largest shopping event.

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.

Fewer US consumers shopped on Black Friday this year, despite record spending, per PYMNTS鈥攊ndicating higher spending per shopper. Big-ticket spending also saw an uptick, likely fueled by some shoppers splurging ahead of potential tariffs. Commercial banking shifts ahead: Corporations in the US and abroad are trying to plan around the uncertainty.

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.

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.

The news: Shopify鈥檚 stronger-than-expected holiday season that included its merchants鈥� 鈥渕ost successful Black Friday-Cyber Monday selling period ever鈥� helped the ecommerce technology vendor close the year on a high note. Gross merchandise volumes (GMV) grew by 25.7% year over year (YoY) to $94.46 billion, outpacing FactSet鈥檚 consensus estimate of $93 billion.

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.

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.

North America retail sales grew 9.5% YoY, with record results during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events that contributed to a holiday season that Amazon called its 鈥渕ost successful yet.鈥�. Advertising revenues rose 18% YoY to $17.29 billion, slightly short of the $17.4 billion expected. Earnings per share of $1.86 were up 86% YoY, well ahead of the $1.49 expected.

GMV from third-party marketplaces during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend grew 44% YoY. GMV from travel increased 42% over the same period. Expanding beyond traditional retail categories is also paying off: Professional and legal services GMV surged 60% YoY. Affirm Card GMV jumped up 113% YoY. Affirm said redesigning its app to promote the card drove volume.