This year's U.S. Black Friday retail sales jumped 3.4% compared to 2023 and online sales growth was even more robust, growing 14.6% compared to last year. In-store sales were up +0.7%.
Those are preliminary findings from the Mastercard Spending Pulse report that revealed consumers were all about deals and promotinos, according to a press release on the data.
Jewelry, electronics and apparel remain the top gift sectors for the holidays, with particular strength in e-commerce for apparel on Black Friday.
"Black Friday was a good indicator of how the holiday season is positively shaping up," Michelle Meyer, chief economist, Mastercard Economics Institute, said in the release. "Our real-time insights show that consumers are comfortably in the gift-giving spirit as price reductions and deals occur across sectors, supporting budgets for holiday shopping."
Mastercard SpendingPulse measures national retail sales based on aggregated and anonymized Mastercard insights, representing all payment types in select markets around the world. It defines "U.S. retail sales" as sales at retailers and food services merchants of all sizes.