Online retail spending in the United States increased 14.6% on Black Friday 2024, according to preliminary Mastercard SpendingPulse figures. Total retail sales excluding vehicles rose 3.4% on November 29 compared with the equivalent shopping day in 2023.

Physical-store sales grew 0.7%. Mastercard identified jewelry, electronics and clothing as prominent gift categories, with online apparel purchases particularly strong. Its figures measured spending across payment types and did not remove the effect of inflation.

SpendingPulse combines Mastercard network activity with estimates for other payment methods. The comparison below retains the original release period and definitions; it describes retail spending rather than gift-card sales, redemption or Mastercard revenue. The public release does not give the underlying transaction count, model parameters or uncertainty intervals.

The data behind the story

US Black Friday sales growth by channel in 2024

Black Friday November 29, 2024 versus Black Friday 2023; preliminary release November 30, 2024.

% year-over-year spending growth
Source
Mastercard SpendingPulse original release

One-day retail spending excluding automotive, not adjusted for inflation. Preliminary growth estimates, not channel shares, unit counts or a gift-card performance measure. The separate two-week commentary uses another window.

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US Black Friday sales growth by channel in 2024 (% year-over-year spending growth)
Category% year-over-year spending growth
Online14.6 % year-over-year spending growth
In-store0.7 % year-over-year spending growth

The company said consumers were responding to promotions across an extended shopping period rather than treating Black Friday as an isolated event. In the preceding two weeks, it observed growth in grocery spending and stronger footwear activity than a year earlier.

Mastercard advisers described shoppers as deliberate in allocating budgets between gifts and experiences. The November 30 release also noted strong restaurant spending on Black Friday. The results concerned that year's shopping period and were not a forecast of future retail performance.