US Black Friday sales rise 4.1%,; Apparel outperforms

US Black Friday retail sales rose 4.1% this year, according to new data from Mastercard SpendingPulse, although gains were driven largely by e-commerce as in-store traffic declined, separate figures from RetailNext showed. Both reports indicated that apparel outperformed most other retail categories.

Mastercard’s SpendingPulse figures, which exclude automotive sales and track in-store and online activity across all payment types, pointed to a strong online showing. The company said this year’s Black Friday “told a story of comfort, connection, and savvy shopping,” as consumers sought value while preparing for gatherings with family and friends.

Apparel spending proved particularly robust, rising 5.7% overall (6.1% online and 5.4% in-store). Mastercard said the category benefitted from “chilly temperatures and seasonal deals” that encouraged shoppers to refresh wardrobes with “value-driven choices and convenience”. Jewellery sales also increased by 2.75% (with online up 4.2%), supported by demand for “gifts that shine”.

E-commerce again outpaced physical retail, with online sales (excluding autos) growing 10.4% as consumers prioritised speed and convenience. In-store sales rose a more modest 1.7%, though Mastercard said bricks-and-mortar locations “remain essential” for tactile shopping experiences. The firm added that the surge in online purchasing underscored the extent to which technology is reshaping consumer payment habits, noting that shoppers were increasingly using smartphones and connected home devices for “faster, safer, and more intuitive” transactions.

However, this digital shift came alongside a fall in store traffic. RetailNext reported a 5.3% year-on-year drop in footfall across Black Friday and the following Saturday. Traffic declined 3.6% on Black Friday itself and a steeper 8.6% on Saturday.

By category, apparel stores recorded a relatively mild fall of 2.3% over the two days, with declines of 0.7% on Friday and 5.3% on Saturday. Footwear traffic fell 6% across the period, while health and beauty saw declines of 4.7% and jewellery 3.6%.

Joe Shasteen, Global Head of Advanced Analytics at RetailNext, said Black Friday 2025 had not “killed the holiday” but had “changed how shoppers approached it”. He said consumers were becoming more intentional, shifting away from “impulse-driven, one-day frenzy” behaviour and responding instead to pressures from prices, tariffs and tighter budgets. According to him, shoppers treated Black Friday as “a value calculation”.

RetailNext added that the 3.6% drop in Black Friday footfall was significantly better than the 6.2% decline recorded from Sunday to Wednesday earlier that week, suggesting that shoppers remained willing to visit stores for major promotional events but were becoming more selective about when such trips were worthwhile.

Shasteen said that despite softer numbers, Black Friday still delivered the highest single-day in-store traffic of the year, “reaffirming its role as the anchor of the holiday shopping season”. He added that shoppers were still willing to visit stores, but increasingly “demanding proof it’s worth leaving the house”. Retailers that “treated November as a month-long build, rather than a single-day spectacle”, he said, saw the strongest in-store results.