Americans opened their wallets wide this Black Friday, smashing previous sales records despite ongoing economic uncertainty. The shopping holiday lived up to its hype, with consumers spending billions both online and in stores.

The Numbers Tell the Story

According to Adobe Analytics, online spending reached an unprecedented $11.8 billion, marking a 9.1% increase from the previous year. The peak shopping window between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time saw online carts ringing up $12.5 million every single minute.

But the spending spree actually started on Thanksgiving Day itself, when shoppers dropped $6.4 billion online—another record. Electronics, video game consoles, and home appliances topped the shopping lists across the board.

Software company Salesforce put the total U.S. Black Friday online sales figure even higher at $18 billion, with global sales hitting $79 billion. Meanwhile, Shopify reported its merchants pulled in a record $6.2 billion worldwide, with peak sales reaching $5.1 million per minute. For Shopify sellers, cosmetics and clothing were the hot tickets.

Online Wins, Stores Struggle

Mastercard SpendingPulse found overall Black Friday sales increased 4.1% from last year (excluding automotive purchases). The real story is in the split: online sales jumped 10.4%, while in-store purchases barely budged with a 1.7% increase.

Physical stores are feeling the squeeze. RetailNext data showed U.S. Black Friday foot traffic dropped 3.6% compared to 2024. Still, it wasn't all doom and gloom for brick-and-mortar retailers. Sensormatic Solutions noted that Black Friday week traffic surged nearly 57% compared to the previous week—people showed up, just fewer of them than before.

What's Next

The shopping marathon isn't over. Adobe predicts shoppers will spend an additional $5.5 billion on Saturday and $5.9 billion on Sunday, building toward a Cyber Monday peak of $14.2 billion.

These record-breaking numbers reveal something important about American consumers: they're still spending, even amid economic uncertainty. The dramatic shift toward online shopping isn't just a pandemic hangover—it's the new reality. Retailers who haven't fully embraced digital strategies might want to reconsider their approach, because consumers have clearly made their preferences known.