The Digital Shopping Revolution: A Statistical Analysis of Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

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Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday – the two span the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as the biggest shopping occasions of the year. Over the last few years, they’ve become renowned for incredible deals and offers, both online and offline. They’ve also been pivotal in influencing consumer behavior and producing heaps of retail data for marketers.

But is one event more popular than the other? And if so, is that true for every market around the world? And how much do retailers earn on each of these occasions?

Answers to these questions are vital for marketers, which is why we’ve put together this guide to Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday, analyzing the statistics of the two occasions. Let’s take a closer look.

Black Friday & Cyber Week History

Traditionally, Cyber Week begins on Cyber Monday and serves as an extension of Black Friday’s sales season. However, while the original Black Friday started in the 1960s as a sales event run by brick-and-mortar stores, Cyber Week and Cyber Monday are more about ecommerce sales.

Today, Black Friday and Cyber Monday serve as a starting point for holiday shopping for many people and as a marketing ploy for the majority of retailers. Let’s dive into how these events are perceived and engaged with around the world and the key trends around them.

Key Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday Statistics

100% of British and Spanish consumers know about Black Friday, and over 80% know about Cyber Monday.
In 2022, there were 122.7 million Black Friday shoppers in the US, with online sales accounting for 67.4% of all Black Friday shoppers, or 87.2 million people.
There were 99.6 million Cyber Monday shoppers in the US in 2022, with 77 million of them shopping online.
Cyber Monday 2022 saw 59% of shoppers use their mobile devices for purchases, compared to 40% in 2021.
In 2021, Cyber Monday’s online revenue exceeded Black Friday’s by 19.4%.
Cyber Monday 2023 is expected to bring in $12 billion – 6.1% more than 2022’s figure of $11.3 billion.
The expected revenue of Black Friday 2023 is $9.6 billion.

BFCM Awareness & Participation Statistics

For many consumers, Black Friday is a staple of their Thanksgiving week, and Cyber Monday is also on its way to becoming that. But there are some consumers who’ve never heard of, let alone engaged in, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping.

In this section, we’ll compare the awareness and participation statistics for the two occasions.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday Awareness

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Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday originated in the US, but as the years have passed, the two occasions have taken off around the world. For example, in Europe, most consumers know about Black Friday, and many countries have their own versions.

As for Cyber Monday, however, its awareness in Europe is at a lower level. Although over 80% of British and Spanish consumers know about it, the figures are lower in other countries, such as Belgium, where awareness is below 65%.

Awareness of Black Friday is similarly high in Latin America, with 100% of Brazilian consumers and 98% of Mexican and Colombian consumers knowing about it.

However, Cyber Monday’s awareness levels are lower there. For instance, in Brazil, less than 50% of consumers know about Cyber Monday. For Mexico and Colombia, awareness levels are 67% and 78%, respectively.

When it comes to the Middle East, many consumers are also aware of Black Friday. For instance, in Turkiye, the awareness level is 97% for the occasion, but only 34% of Turkish consumers know about Cyber Monday.

For Saudi Arabia and UAE, Cyber Monday awareness levels are higher, at 40% and 60%, respectively, while Black Friday ranks at 98% and 100%, respectively.

In Australia, almost 90% of consumers know about Black Friday. Only 59% of Aussies have heard of Cyber Monday, though.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday Participation

Despite the somewhat lower levels of awareness of Cyber Monday around the world, the level of engagement is on par with Black Friday and sometimes even surpasses it. A big reason for this is that more people than ever are shopping online, which is what Cyber Monday is all about.

In 2022, there were 122.7 million Black Friday shoppers in the US. That figure represents both online and traditional shoppers. Online sales accounted for 67.4% of all Black Friday shoppers, or 87.2 million people.

As for Cyber Monday 2022, there were 99.6 million shoppers in the US. The National Retail Federation reports that 2022 saw 77 million US consumers shopping online that day, counting for 77.3% of all Cyber Monday shoppers.

For 37% of these shoppers, 2022 was their first-ever Cyber Monday, while 31% were engaging with Cyber Monday for the fifth time.

The higher rate of Cyber Monday’s online sales is no surprise, as it’s traditionally been an online-first occasion.

Source: Finances Online

We’re expecting to see unprecedented consumer engagement with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2023. Let’s take a look at how Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping differ across different demographics.

What People Are Buying on BFCM – Overview

Source: Finances Online

Some of the most popular BFCM items include electronics, toys, and clothing. For both occasions, LEGO remained one of the most popular searches on retailers’ websites, such as Amazon, over the last three years.

In terms of impulse buys on BFCM, Black Friday traditionally gets more impulse buys, with retailers pushing the “Don’t Miss Out” factor to the max. The most common impulse purchases are sporting goods – 71% are bought on an impulse on Black Friday.

What US Men & Women Are Buying on BFCM

Both men and women in the US shop a lot on Black Friday and Cyber Monday – it’s estimated that 78% of men and 71% of women participate in Black Friday shopping.

On both days, goods in the electronics category dominate the ecommerce landscape, according to statistics – 78% of men are likely to buy them on Black Friday, compared to 62% of women.

For Cyber Monday, the results are similar – 79% of men buy electronics, compared to 64% of women.

These statistics are corroborated by a Nielsen report on the 2022 BFCM shopping season, which also confirms electronics as the most popular item. The popularity of electronics was also very high among first-time Black Friday shoppers in 2022 – they made up 67% of all electronics buyers.

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday digital shopping revolution, marking the shift of consumer preferences to online shopping, has been a major source of revenue for retailers in the last few years. We’ll now take a look at the methods of online shopping on BFCM.

Desktop Shopping

A large segment of ecommerce customers prefer to shop on desktop or laptop devices on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For example, almost 60% of consumers shopped on desktops on Black Friday in 2020 and 2021. That figure grew to 53% in 2022.

The statistics for desktop shopping on Cyber Monday in 2021 are similar to those for Black Friday – 60% of purchases were made on desktop. However, in 2022, more consumers were actually shopping on mobile on Cyber Monday.

Generally, the conversion rate for desktop shopping tends to be high. For example, for Cyber Monday, it was 7.2% in 2020 and 6.9% in 2022, and for Black Friday 2022, it was 5.6%.

Mobile Shopping

Source: Adobe

Mobile shopping is on the rise, and BFCM is no exception to that trend. In fact, Adobe predicts that mobile spending will reach $113 billion during 2023’s Cyber Week. Given what we’ve seen over the last few years, that’s no surprise.

For example, Cyber Monday 2022 saw 59% of shoppers use their mobile devices for purchases, according to the NRF. That’s a record figure and a significant increase from the 40% of consumers who shopped on mobile on Cyber Monday 2021 and the 43% of m-commerce consumers on Cyber Monday 2020.

As for Black Friday, 47% of its ecommerce sales came from mobile devices in 2022. That’s 12% lower than the 2022 Cyber Monday figure, but it’s higher than Black Friday’s 2020 percentage of online sales made through mobile devices, at 25.3%.

Mobile BFCM shoppers are 5% more likely than desktop shoppers to add items to their cart. However, mobile conversion rates are traditionally lower than desktop equivalents, and it shows in the BFCM statistics.

In 2022, Black Friday’s mobile conversion rate was 3.3%, and Cyber Monday’s was slightly higher at 3.6%. An average Cyber Monday mobile shopper bought 2.98 items in 2022, compared to 3.68 items purchased by an average desktop shopper.

BFCM Revenue Statistics

Black Friday and Cyber Monday make up a significant share of retailers’ annual revenue. But which day brings in the most? Let’s take a look at the revenue statistics for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

BFCM Earnings Over the Years

Despite Black Friday being more popular than Cyber Monday, the latter has actually been bringing in more revenue over the last few years, as illustrated by the infographic above. For instance, in 2021, Cyber Monday’s online revenue exceeded Black Friday’s by 19.4%.

In 2023, Cyber Monday is expected to bring in $12 billion – 6.1% more than 2022’s figure of $11.3 billion. The expected figure for 2023’s Black Friday earnings is $9.6 billion, representing a YoY growth of 5.7%. Both figures are a significant increase from 2020 despite a slight dip in 2021.

In terms of average spending, Deloitte reports that an average consumer spent $205 on Black Friday in 2022, which is 8% more than the year before. As you might’ve guessed, the average consumer spend on Cyber Monday 2022 was higher, at $218. That represents an increase of 25% from the year before.

Future BFCM Trends

It’s clear that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are here to stay, at least in some shape or form. As ecommerce is becoming more prevalent, the digital revolution is likely to continue impacting BFCM and how retailers and consumers engage with it.

While we don’t have the gift of clairvoyance to predict Black Friday and Cyber Monday’s future, we can analyze current trends and make predictions on that basis. Here are some of the trends we believe will impact BFCM.

BFCM Extension

In our Cyber Monday sales boom guide, we explored how BFCM shopping occasions, especially Cyber Monday, will likely be extended in future to accommodate different audiences.

Indeed, we believe the future of BFCM will likely offer an extension of the shopping window, with retailers offering deals and discounts over the entire week. This will allow consumers to access a longer tail of discounts and let them plan their shopping strategically.

M-Commerce & Social Commerce

Several billion people now own smartphones and use them in their day-to-day lives, and the devices are transforming our shopping experiences – and BFCM is no exception.

With over a billion people on social media, retailers are maximizing social media marketing opportunities for the two occasions.

For a truly seamless BFCM experience for social media shoppers, retailers will be investing in strategies for direct engagement and instant checkout in the social ecosystem, such as through Instagram Shopping.

Payment Innovations

In the last couple of years, we’ve seen many customers use Buy Now, Pay Later payment options in their BFCM shopping, and we’re expecting that trend to continue in future.

In addition, we foresee other innovations in the payment sphere, which will make checkouts more convenient and see more retailers embracing existing innovations like PayPal checkouts, cryptocurrency, and digital wallets.

Which is the Overall Winner?

There are several criteria for determining the winner of Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday. Let’s see which one ticks the most boxes.

Awareness & Engagement

First of all, Black Friday is more well-known around the world, with an awareness rate of almost 100% across many countries. Second of all, that high level of awareness results in a higher number of shoppers – over 120 million in the US alone in 2022, compared to just under 100 million on Cyber Monday.

Winner: Black Friday

Mobile Shopping

We highlighted m-commerce as one of the key trends shaping Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping. Both occasions have been marked by increasing rates of mobile shopping in recent years, but Cyber Monday is driving more mobile sales than Black Friday, and its mobile conversion rate is higher.

Winner: Cyber Monday

Revenue

In the case of revenue, Cyber Monday has consistently been bringing in more revenue than Black Friday. For instance, its 2022 revenue was $11.3 billion, while Black Friday’s was $9.12 billion.

Winner: Cyber Monday

Closing Thoughts

Strictly speaking, Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday isn’t a competition. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see how the two occasions impact consumers and the different approaches shoppers take for the two occasions.

With Cyber Monday being a more recent innovation than Black Friday, it follows that fewer consumers know about it. However, it doesn’t stop those who do from engaging with it to the fullest, with an impressive level of consumer spending for the day.

Since the 2023 shopping extravaganza is just around the corner, we’ll be keeping an eye on what shape Black Friday and Cyber Monday trends are going to take this year.