Survey: Shoppers cautious about Black Friday spending
A majority of Black Friday shoppers say that inflation will impact their spending plans this year, although many still plan to shell out a healthy amount on gifts.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of Americans plan to shop on Black Friday this year, according to a new survey from LendingTree. Nearly seven-in-10 (68%) shoppers say inflation will impact their plans, with 39% expecting to spend less, and 29% expecting to spend more this year.
Men are twice as likely as women (38% versus 18%) to say they will spend more on Black Friday because of inflation, while women are far more likely than men to say they will spend less (48% versus 31%). Nearly half (47%) of Gen Zers ages 18 to 28 will spend less on Black Friday due to inflation — the highest of any age group — while 36% of millennials say the same.
[READ MORE: ICSC: Shoppers to spend average of $542 over Thanksgiving weekend]
Roughly a third (32%) of consumers expected to spend at least $500 on Black Friday, while 17% of Black Friday shoppers will spend less than $100. Half (51%) of those surveyed plan to spend between $100 and $499. Nearly four-in-10 (38%) consumers who have made Black Friday purchases in the past have gone into debt as a result. Eighty-three percent of this group did so last year, including 15% who are still paying it off.
Topping Black Friday shopping lists are clothes (73%), electronics (65%), and toys and games (51%).
Most people (78%) who will shop on Black Friday this year say they will make a budget for their shopping spending, and more than half (56%) of budget-makers say they will “stick closely” to it. However, LendingTree found that 46% of people who have shopped on Black Friday in the past say at least a quarter of their purchases were impulse buys. About one-in-six (16%) past Black Friday shoppers say that more than half of their purchases on that day are impulse buys.
About a third (32%) of Black Friday shoppers say they will purchase at least half of their holiday gifts on that day, while just 1% won’t do any holiday shopping on that day. Men are slightly more likely than women (33% versus 30%) to do most of their holiday shopping on Black Friday, while millennials (35%) are the most likely age group to do so.
LendingTree commissioned QuestionPro to conduct an online survey of 2,050 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 79 from Oct. 9-13, 2025.
