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By Hugh Cameron
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The Black Friday to Cyber Monday shopping period offered a significant boost to America’s retailers, and certain brands found greater success in attracting the nation's discount-hungry consumers.
According to new data from foot-traffic analytics firm Placer.ai, shared with Newsweek, this year’s “winners” included some of the more well-known household-name big boxes like Sam’s Club and Lowe’s, as well as outlets like Gap and Bath & Body Works, which saw notable jumps in customer numbers on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Why It Matters
Foot traffic and sales figures that emerged following the busy start to the Christmas shopping period show that Americans spent at healthy levels this year, assuaging fears from many retailers that broad-based financial stresses and drops in consumer sentiment could weigh on holiday season success.
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However, despite an overall uptick in spending, analysts have pointed to a modest decline in unit volumes as a sign that the dollar-term increase was a product of inflation rather than solely shopper enthusiasm. Coupled with a higher level of financing among consumers and the continued trend of affluent Americans propping up sales, some have cautioned that this year’s figures are not clear evidence of a consumer in good health.
What To Know
According to Placer.ai’s data, overall in-store traffic was up 2.7 percent compared to 2024, with thrift stores seeing the sharpest increase at 12.2 percent, followed by off-price apparel retailers at 6.8 percent.
Among the largest superstores, Lowe’s and Sam’s Club were this year’s biggest winners, with visits to both up 9.7 percent year over year. Costco also saw a 7.7 percent jump, with Target and Walmart having more modest outcomes, with foot traffic flat and up by 2.1 percent, respectively.
For the discount and dollar store category, which rose 4.4 percent overall, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet led with a 16.6 percent increase, followed by Dollar General at 5.7 percent and Five Below at 2.5 percent. Dollar Tree, however, saw a slight decline of 0.2 percent.
Ross Dress for Less won the day among off-price retailers, with a 13.9 percent gain from 2024, followed by the furnishing store HomeGoods with a 6.2 percent jump.
Department stores fared worse over Black Friday, registering a 0.1 percent decline in traffic, with notable exceptions like Gap and Bloomingdale’s seeing sizable increases even as Macy’s, Kohl’s and JCPenney saw visits fall.
Bath & Body Works was another of this year's standouts, with traffic rising 23.7 percent, though other specialty stores like GameStop and DICK’S Sporting Goods slumped, according to the data.
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The broad increase in in-store traffic adds to the digital successes retailers found over the Thanksgiving weekend. Adobe reports that online sales reached $44.2 billion, up 7.7 percent year over year, with record-setting spending on both Black Friday ($11.8 billion) and Cyber Monday ($14.25 billion).
And while this year’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales were driven in large part by e-commerce, Placer.ai found that shopping malls of all kinds saw a surge in visits, with indoor malls registering a 3.1 percent increase compared to 2024.
However, the success of discount retailers and broader trends within the data led some experts to caution that this Black Friday was not the sign of a resurgence in consumer sentiment that others have suggested.
“Black Friday 2025 continued the bifurcation trend we've observed over the past several months,” said R.J. Hottovy, Head of Analytical Research at Placer.ai, in comments shared with Newsweek. “Affluent consumers drove visits to luxury categories, while lower- and middle-income consumers sought out deals to stretch their household budgets.”
What People Are Saying
Ethan Chernofsky, Chief Marketing Officer **at Placer.ai, said: “**Black Friday provided a potent reminder of the resilience of consumer demand and the continued centrality of this specific day to the wider retail holiday period. Most categories saw visits up compared to 2024, with the remaining either seeing minor declines or flat visit rates. This is an especially positive sign in a year where Black Friday falls later in the calendar and when the pre-Christmas period looks especially poised for a significant spike in overall visits. Those bullish on the potential of the holidays in 2025 received a powerful sign that those predictions would prove themselves out.”
Retail analyst Neil Saunders told Newsweek, following Black Friday: "The increased level of spending tells us that the consumer is not hibernating and that the retail economy is not in recession. However, it does reveal some underlying cracks. Growth is mostly being driven by middle- and higher-income households and is not a broad brush. Consumers are also cautions and are very deliberate and thoughtful about their spending. They're not just dashing out and buying loads on impulse. Muted volume growth creates polarization between winners and losers and there is not enough growth to satisfy all retailers."
What Happens Next
Retailers will now turn their attention to the Christmas shopping period to see whether the momentum built on Thanksgiving weekend can carry through the remainder of the year.
Thanks to the “strong Cyber Week showing,” Adobe expects consumers to spend a record $253.4 billion online over November and December, while the National Retail Federation has forecast that overall holiday season spending will surpass $1 trillion for the first time.
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