Survey: 79% of global consumers to shop year-end sales
Consumers in the United States and abroad are planning to take advantage of year-end sales events this holiday season.
A new global survey from BCG reveals that Italy and the U.S. lead the way among countries where consumers plan to shop during these events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, with 90% and 83% of consumers intending to do so. Globally, 79% of consumers plan to take advantage of year-end events.
Nearly 60% of consumers plan to start researching deals in October or early November, according to the survey. However, there was a slight shift this year toward last-minute searches closer to sales events (28%, up 2pp from 2024). This trend was observed across most countries.
[READ MORE: Survey: Shoppers get into holiday spirit, find better deals by shopping in stores]
Around two-thirds (64%) of global consumers plan to buy Christmas or holiday presents during year-end sales events in 2025, down slightly from around 66% in 2024 and 68% in 2023. Clothing (52%, consistent with 2024), electronics (42%, up 2pp), and beauty (33%, up 3pp) are the top planned spending categories for year-end sales events.
Consumers across the globe are remaining cautious with their spending, as 81% are concerned about recent price increases for essentials, and 71% report wondering if tariffs and duties will raise prices. Nearly half say they have reduced non-essential spending and are monitoring prices more closely in recent months.
Additional findings from the BCG’s Black Friday Consumer Study include the following:
- Consumers will start this shopping journey mostly online, looking to Amazon (52%, up 2pp) and Google (33%, up 1pp) for research and inspiration. More than 55% of shoppers are planning to use social media for inspiration.
- Almost half (48%) of consumers have already used or are planning to use GenAI during year-end sales events, a 9pp increase over 2024. Consumers will primarily use it for research and inspiration, showing strong interest in product comparisons (46%), deal-hunting (44%) and product research (42%).
- Around 40% of global consumers plan to use flexible payment options, such as “buy now, pay later.” However, responses on this topic differ significantly across markets, with the uptake highest in Italy, at 48%, and lowest in Denmark at 20%.
“Year-end sales events have become a must-win global retail moment,” said BCG. “These key findings therefore carry important implications for retailers – both for success in the medium term and for building a sustained competitive advantage across future year-end sales event seasons. Success will depend on actions that range from engaging early and defending visibility in AI-driven shopping ecosystems to communicating clearly and delivering on promised discounts and value propositions.”
