“Black Friday” is a record despite the economic slowdown in the United States

The Retail Federation (NRF) announced on Tuesday that about 200 million Americans made purchases during the so-called “Black Friday” discount period, a record number for shopping in the United States.

This figure, a slight increase of 1.9% in attendance compared to 2022, when the National Solidarity Fund expected a decline (-7.4%), is a sign of “consumer resilience”, according to the federation, in an economy that shows signs of improvement. Running out of steam.

The period in question extends from the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday) to “Cyber ​​Monday,” the following Monday, now a traditional online promotional day, through “Black Friday” itself, Friday.

Consumers spent, on average, $321 each, according to the NRF, bringing the total to more than $60 billion, a figure the NRF contacted by AFP declined to confirm.

NRF President Matthew Shay attributed the success of this sequence in particular to the promotions given by dealers as well as favorable weather.

The official admitted that “consumption has moderated compared to the past three years,” which witnessed a rush in purchases after the first months of the pandemic.

“Consumers remain strong and we expect that to continue into the holiday season,” Matthew Shay said.

The Fund expects spending to increase by 3 to 4% during the period from the beginning of November to the end of December.

In detail, during the five days of the Thanksgiving period, 121.4 million people physically visited a point of sale (-1%), which is less than the 134.2 million US residents who made online purchases (+3%), some of whom used both options.

It is worth noting that transactions made on a smartphone or connected device have decreased significantly (-11%) year-on-year.

The five most popular types of merchandise were clothing (49% of buyers), toys (31%), gift cards (25%), books, video games and other media (23%), then hygiene and beauty products (23%). .