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Consumers will spend less between Black Friday and Cyber Monday than they did last year, despite a higher percentage of consumers planning to purchase during the four-day holiday shopping period, finds Deloitte’s 2025 Black Friday-Cyber Monday survey.
Consumer spend per person during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events is expected to average $622, down 4% year-over-year. Key factors include higher prices on holiday goods and everyday products and a negative outlook for the economy, the study says.
The decrease in spending during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM) period comes even though 82% of surveyed consumers plan to shop BFCM this year, up from 79% in 2024. Among Gen Zers, 92% plan to shop during the four-day period, despite that demographic’s holiday budget decreasing 32% from the prior year.
Deloitte surveyed 1,200 consumers between Oct. 15 and Oct. 23 for its annual Black Friday-Cyber Monday survey.
For retailers, the projected decline means they will have to provide deals and shopping experiences that attract consumers. “Consumers are concerned about trying to maximize their holiday shopping budget and the best way to do this is through deals,” says Lupine Skelly, research director for Deloitte. “For many consumers, the best deals come during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday period. A lot of consumers are trained to look for promotions and deals during this period.”
Some 47% of respondents say they have encountered higher prices for holiday items this season ahead of BFCM, while 34% say retailers are discounting less. Those two trends are prompting holiday shoppers to “hold out for deals” during BFCM, with 60% or respondents saying they have already put items in their online shopping carts for purchase during BFCM, the survey says. In addition, 42% of respondents say they plan to use cashback Web sites to maximize deals, and 38% plan to only purchase items that are at least 50% off.
“A lot of the pre-Black Friday Cyber Monday deals are highly targeted, while Black Friday Cyber Monday deals tend to be broader,” Skelly says.
Deals that apply to a broader array of products help attract more shoppers, with 50% of respondents saying they find the best deals during BFCM, Skelly adds. “Offering broader deals during Black Friday-Cyber Monday is a smart thing to do, because there is so much [pre-BFCM] competition, especially in the week leading up to it,” says Skelly.
To stretch their holiday shopping budgets, 64% of respondents plan to use credit cards or buy now, pay later loans to finance purchases. Three in ten consumers say they plan to make a purchase during BFCM using a buy now, pay later loan. Gen Zers and Millennials will be the most active in this, Skelly adds.
Some good news for retailers is that 27% of consumers planning to use BNPL plan to spend more than they would otherwise. “It’s important for retailers to offer a BNPL option,” Skelly says.
While Gen Zers have a smaller holiday shopping budget in 2025 than in 2024, BFCM deals are what Gen Zers are targeting. “That’s very telling, because it says Gen Zers plan to [spend] most of their holiday shopping budget during this period,” Skelly says.
In addition, 72% of Gen Zers plan to shop in-store during BFCM, compared to 49% for the rest of consumers, which means retailers will not only have to offer strong incentives attract in-store shoppers, but create a memorable in-store shopping experience.
“Gen Zers are more likely to embrace the in-store shopping experience, which has changed since the pandemic, as opposed to just seeing Black Friday-Cyber Monday as a holiday shopping event,” Skelly says.
