2024-12-13

Black Friday 2024: The US’s Shopping Trends Unwrapped

Hollie Pinnington

Senior Client Strategy Manager

As the dust settles on Black Friday 2024, the US’s shopping scene has revealed fascinating trends and behaviors that shaped this year’s retail frenzy. From shifting search patterns to category-specific sales booms, here’s a data-driven look at the highlights that dominated the season.

Search Trends: Timing Matters

We started to see searches for Black Friday Deals 2024 trending upwards from 28th September. The highest peak for search volume for this term was Week commencing 16th November, ranking as the #36th most searched term on Amazon US.

Amazon's official Black Friday deals started on the 20th of November, US audience peaked early with their deal purchasing.
Dropped to 64th most searched term the day of Black Friday.

Where the Clicks and Conversions Happened

Across the main period of Black Friday, we saw the below products the most clicked and converted for the term ‘Black Friday 2024 deals’.

This includes stationary, air fryer, Amazon Fire Tablet, Electronics (extension & USB cord).

Apple take over the top trends - 

Airpods, Ipad & Apple Watch are all among the highest search terms throughout November and the Black Friday period. Closely, followed by Amazon's Kindle. 

Category Uplifts: A Closer Look

(based on brands integrated in Ignite)

  1. Grocery & Gourmet Food 
    Sales uplift: Up 247% in total 
    Start products: Candy & Chocolate Bars up over 200%!!
    (Thanksgiving & Christmas purchases)
  2. Home & Kitchen 
    Sales uplift: 700%
    Start products: Coffee & espresso machines leading the way with sales increase from 300 to 1000%.
  3. Health & Household
    Sales uplift: 211%
    Star product: Herbal Supplements seeing a huge 257% increase
  4. Sports & Outdoors:
    Start product: Heart Monitors products represented the main increase in this category with a 220%  average increase in sales. 

Discount and Savings

On average, shoppers enjoyed 34% savings across Amazon US highlighting the strength of promotional campaigns during the season. These insights are based on data from Ignite, reflecting brands running integrated promotions during Black Friday.

What These Trends Mean for Retailers

The US’s Black Friday 2024 trends paint a clear picture of consumer priorities:

  • Early planning pays off. Brands that capture interest weeks before Black Friday can capitalize on search spikes.
  • Seasonal relevance matters. Shoppers pivoted from deals to festive essentials as December loomed.
  • Category focus drives results. Investing in top-performing sectors like Electronics, home appliances and grocery ensures relevance and conversions.

These insights are a valuable roadmap for tailoring strategies to US consumer behaviors as we gear up for the next holiday season.