• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 27, 2024

The big holiday weekend is finally here. And multiple firms are coming up with Black Friday shopping forecasts. 

The real results won’t be known until Friday evening, maybe later. But a new analysis by Finder estimates that Americans will spend $102.4 billion this Black Friday.

Specifically, 58% of U.S. consumers, some 152 million, will shop for deals. On average, they will spend $674 apiece. But that number is down from $708 last year and $741 in 2021.  

The most popular items apparently are technology-related. The most searched-for product, pulling 21% of search volume, is PSS. Second is Nintendo Switch, with 18.!% of volume. The iPhone is third, with 16.6%.

How big a discount should you be prepared to offer? Last year, Beats Headphones led the way, with 45%.  

Granted, this is a limited roster of products and deals. Whatever your sector, there’s still time to rush out an email containing a must-have discount. 

Are you one of the most searched-for retailers? They are:

• Walmart — 33.8%
• Target — 11.5% 
• Best Buy — 10.1%
• Kohl’s — 8.1% 
• Amazon — 8.0%
• Apple — 7.4%
• Lowe’s — 4.8%
• Home Depot — 4.8% 
• Costco — 4.1%
• Sephora — 2.1%
• Samsung — 1.8%
• Nike — 1.6%
• GameStop — 1.4%
• Aidi — 1.1%

Have a great Black Friday (and Thanksgiving too).