U.S. Black Friday week retail sales fall short in 2022: NPD

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Dec 5, 2022

Black Friday week sales in the U.S. fell short in 2022, as sales dipped lower than during the same week in 2021, according to U.S. retailer point-of-sale information collected by the NPD Group.

During the week ending November 26, spanning Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday, sales revenue was 5% lower than during the same week in 2021, while unit sales were down 8%, added NPD Group.

“Black Friday appears to have brought more shoppers out to the stores, but that traffic clearly didn’t amount to more spending,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD. “Retailers and manufacturers need to find new ways to engage the consumer in making purchases, converting consumers from social browsers to active buyers.”

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The 2022 Black Friday week also underperformed compared to the past three years, with sales this year only exceeding the sales revenue clocked in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic.

This week was also the first time this year that discretionary general merchandise retail sales revenue fell below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, down 9%, added NPD.

Beauty was the only industry where revenue and unit sales both increased during Black Friday week compared to each of the three previous years, with technology, toys, and apparel falling short of last year’s sales performance.

Meanwhile, ​total general merchandise retail sales revenue in November was 8% lower than it was in 2021. 

“Compounding the economic pressures on consumers, the absence of new product in the market is a huge challenge for retailers right now,” Cohen said. “The good news is that the traffic is there, which opens the door for impulse purchases and some self-gifting — if the consumer can be persuaded.”