Consumers are gearing up for one of the holiday shopping season’s main events: Black Friday. This time, the critical sales day may have lost some of its novelty. More than one-third of consumers said they are being bombarded with more deals events throughout this year than last.
This proliferation of deals events presents both opportunities and challenges. The abundance of sales can dilute their appeal, making “special” events less special. Yet economic pressures make these events essential for many shoppers.
To understand how these factors shape consumers’ sales shopping behaviors, this PYMNTS Intelligence exclusive report surveyed 2,585 consumers who had made at least one retail purchase in the previous 30 days. The survey was conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 11.
Read on to explore how shifting perceptions of value shape purchasing decisions and why Black Friday retains much of its allure despite many shoppers’ deal fatigue.
Nearly 2 in 5 Shoppers Noticed More Deals Events Happened This Year
Many consumers who have shopped said there have been more sales this year than last. Among those who made retail purchases in the previous month, 38% said the number of sales events has risen. On the other hand, only 19% of these shoppers said event frequency fell from 2023 to 2024.
However, consumers whose financial lifestyle suggests they need sales events the most are the least likely to perceive this sort of abundance. Approximately one-quarter of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck with issues paying bills perceive that the number of sales is declining, leading all financial lifestyles. Consumers who live paycheck to paycheck without difficulties are likelier to say sales are becoming more frequent — perhaps because they regularly use all of their discretionary income and monitor the deals ecosystem to maximize their spending power.
The proliferation of sales events could devalue them. PYMNTS Intelligence data finds that 41% of shoppers say the volume of sales events makes them seem less special. Just 30% of shoppers disagree with the statement.
Similarly, 43% of retail customers say there are too many sales now to pay attention to them all. Additionally, 39% feel they only need to shop at one big sales event to get what they need.
In better news for merchants, 26% of retail shoppers believe the increasing number of deal events has made shoppers less likely to shop deal events overall. That means the other three-quarters think shoppers are unaffected or even enticed to shop the events more. Although the increased volume is tempering some recent shoppers’ positive feelings, that group remains in the firm minority.
As deal events abound year-round, savvy consumers wait until the next sale to make purchases. Thirty-seven percent of shoppers say they are likelier this year than last to wait for sales to buy non-holiday gifts for others.
Urgency does not seem to be a big factor. Shoppers are roughly equally likely to hold off until sales events to buy immediate necessities as they are to pause for nice-to-haves. Namely, 39% are somewhat or much more likely to wait this year than last to buy a product they immediately need. A roughly equal share reports being more likely to wait this year to buy products they want but do not urgently need.
Consumers’ Feelings About Deals Events Depend on Their Financial Lifestyles
Data shows that consumers’ financial lifestyles seem to seriously inform their reactions to these sales events. Some of the most financially stable consumers — those not living paycheck to paycheck — are falling victim to deal fatigue. Meanwhile, financially struggling consumers — those living paycheck to paycheck with difficulties paying their bills — have split feelings about sales. Some are pulling back on deals event spending to curb their purchasing overall. Others, meanwhile, are stepping up sales participation to maximize the value of their spending.
A small but notable share of consumers not living paycheck to paycheck are pulling back on spending at deals events. Namely, 17% of these individuals shopped fewer sales or deals events this year than three years ago. Most — 55% — shopped roughly the same amount. The majority of those non-paycheck-to-paycheck consumers pulling back feel deal fatigue — that there are getting to be too many Black Friday sales.
Data shows that 52% of financially stable consumers shopping fewer sales said deal fatigue was a key factor in their behavior change. This share is considerably higher than the 40% sample average among all consumers shopping fewer sales who said the same.
Conversely, among the 32% of consumers living paycheck to paycheck with issues paying bills who have pulled back this year, most indicate an overall need to curb spending in response. We find 71% of these consumers cite spending cutbacks as a key reason for their choice to shop fewer deals events.
Yet a similar share of financially struggling consumers — 31% — are shopping more deals events this year than three years ago. For these consumers, the decision tends to be much more needs-based than for their financially stable counterparts. Data shows that 35% of financially struggling consumers shopping more events say they are doing so because sales are the only way they can afford what they need. Just 20% of financially stable consumers who are shopping more deal events share the same justification.
Meanwhile, financially stable consumers stepping up their participation in sales events are the likeliest to do so because of high-quality deals. These shoppers disproportionately said they were shopping more sales because of all the good deals to take advantage of. Similarly, they also disproportionately said they were shopping more sales because the deals are improving.
Shoppers Are Shelling Out for Black Friday Deals
It seems that the risk of deal fatigue is not deterring Black Friday shoppers from shelling out for the savings event. Retail customers who regularly participate in Black Friday are much more likely to amp up their spending this year than to pull back.
We find that 41% of shoppers who participated last year and plan to participate this year expect to spend more this time. This is more than twice the 19% share expecting to spend less. Similarly, Black Friday shoppers are also twice as likely to expect to buy more items this year than fewer items. This indicates that the expected increase in spending is more than just a matter of inflation.
Higher-earning consumers are the most likely to expect to spend more. Nearly half (46%) of Black Friday shoppers who earn more than $100,000 annually anticipate spending more this year. Among those with annual incomes of less than $50,000, 36% said the same. It seems that the consumers who expect to increase spending are those with cash to burn — a valuable demographic, of course, for merchants.
The inverse is also somewhat true, with lower-income shoppers more likely to expect to spend less. This expectation is held by 23% of low-income Black Friday participants but only 15% of high-income participants.
Retail shoppers planning to scale back on spending are more likely to be older or more financially constrained. Additionally, shoppers participating in fewer sales events overall this year are also the likeliest to plan to reduce Black Friday spending.
Most Shoppers Say Black Friday Deals Do Not Strongly Influence Merchant Choice
Merchants participate in these special deals events for traffic and publicity, common logic suggests, but the data reveals most consumers are not highly motivated by deals when choosing a merchant. Among recent shoppers, 59% are not very swayed by deals and discounts when choosing where to buy a specific product. That share holds roughly constant across different income brackets and financial lifestyles.
Instead, it seems, other factors can be stronger drivers, leading consumers not to prioritize deals. For instance, a shopper might be more motivated by their existing loyalties, convenience and/or the desire for a specific item. As such, merchants may actually be leaving money on the table when they offer steep discounts to acquire customers.
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Methodology
This PYMNTS Intelligence exclusive report is based on a survey of 2,585 United States consumers who made retail purchases in the previous 30 days. It was conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 11. The report delves into consumers’ perceptions surrounding deals events as well as their expectations for their Black Friday participation. Our sample as balanced to resemble the U.S. adult population’s demographics across gender, average age and annual income.
