Black Friday, originally a US-based retail phenomenon, has evolved into a pivotal date in the global retail calendar. The event's digital transformation, powered by the rise of e-commerce, has expanded its scope, transforming it into a global shopping festival that transcends borders and channels.
Retailers leverage Black Friday as a testing ground for pricing strategies, inventory management, and promotional campaigns, often extending deals across multiple weeks to maximise engagement. Though it is a critical shopping event across physical and digital retail channels, we will take a closer look at the development of Black Friday in e-commerce specifically – a retail environment in which discounts have a greater prevalence throughout the year.
Consumer uptake of deals throughout the shopping season rises across markets
Considering the high penetration of online marketplaces in e-commerce, the performance of leading marketplace platforms shows a continuous uptick in the number of Black Friday sales, despite the emergence of more new shopping seasons and year-round price promotions.
Over USD16 billion more in e-commerce sales were transacted on Amazon during the Black Friday period in 2023 compared to 2022
Source: Euromonitor International
While overshadowed by Amazon’s wider global footprint, other regional and national marketplaces – such as Colombia-based Mercado Libre, which also operates in Brazil under the name Mercado Livre – saw the next highest increase in value sales. Mercado Livre and Flipkart saw the highest development in terms of growth. This momentum signifies the growing popularity of e-commerce platforms among shoppers looking to find the best deals and price promotions in emerging markets. India, Mexico and Brazil were among the leading markets recording the highest increases in e-commerce growth during the Black Friday period in 2023. In markets in the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, shoppers have embraced a localised version of the event, known as “White Friday”.
It is noteworthy that Black Friday is not the only shopping season now enticing shoppers with attractive prices. For example, Amazon’s Prime Day promotion has gradually increased its impact. In fact, in 2023, thanks to Prime Day, the month of October recorded a year-on-year growth rate of 19%, while Black Friday-backed November sales saw growth of 21%.
However, Black Friday remains the biggest shopping event of the year, with the greatest contribution to overall e-commerce sales.
The Black Friday period accounted for 12% of Amazon’s overall e-commerce sales across the 15 countries covered by Euromonitor International’s E-Commerce research in 2023
Source: Euromonitor International
With consumers on the hunt for discounts during the holiday shopping period, the event continues to strengthen its economic relevance for retailers.
While Prime Day is popular thanks to discounts across FMCG and non-FMCG products, Black Friday particularly stands out for discounts on non-FMCG products. During November 2023, 90% of the sales on Amazon comprised non-FMCG products such as consumer electronics, appliances, and home and fashion products. These products recorded a sales increase of 20% over the October 2023 Prime Day period. Sales of FMCG products have also picked up during the Black Friday sales period, with growth of 12% experienced in 2023.
Expectations for 2024
2024 is shaping up to be marked by greater consumer preference for value-driven purchases. 48% of connected consumers participating in Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, fielded January to February 2024, state that saving money is their top spending priority in the next 12 months, and 72% share that they are concerned that the cost of everyday items they buy is going up. This sentiment has translated to not only increased adoption of e-commerce to find better prices, but also a greater preference for timing purchases to coincide with big shopping events to obtain the best deals without compromising needs and wants.
During 2024, Amazon’s July Prime Day and October Prime Day events surpassed previous highs. While 2023 July sales for Amazon surpassed 2022 levels by 17%, the momentum continued in 2024, as sales surpassed 2023 levels by 11%. A similar trend was seen in October, underscoring the fact that consumers continue to shop smarter.
Thus, expectations for 2024 Black Friday are optimistic, as the event is likely to set a new online sales record. It is noteworthy that 2023 Black Friday sales recorded the highest growth among other shopping seasons during the year, growing by 21%. Considering the greater activity expected for non-FMCG products during the 2024 Black Friday season, overall seasonal sales during the period are conservatively forecast to surpass last year’s by 20-27%.
Capitalising on Black Friday by embracing a customer-centric strategy is key
While Black Friday looks set to remain a peak shopping period, establishing brand visibility in a competitive environment is becoming challenging. In light of this, brands should consider Black Friday more than simply a sales event. Instead, brands should strive to transform Black Friday into a strategic lever for growth, differentiation, and long-term customer retention.
The key lies in balancing aggressive sales tactics with thoughtful, value-driven initiatives and establishing the right partnerships across offline and online retail platforms. Additionally, the savvy use of consumer insights is more important than ever to determine effective pricing, promotion and placement strategies.
Read our report, Shopping Events, Holidays and Travel: Asian Beauty Shoppers’ Occasion-based Purchases, for more analysis on the impact of shopping events on retail. Or download our white paper, Top Global Consumer Trends 2025, to understand the latest trends to design your e-commerce offering.