Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping events of the year, and 2024’s edition certainly lived up to expectations. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, UK shoppers turned out in force, spending record amounts.
What made 2024 particularly interesting was how consumer behaviour shifted in unexpected ways. From where people chose to shop to how they paid for purchases, we’ve noticed some clear changes in how people shop.
We’ve analysed the data from across the weekend to identify seven key trends defining Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. These insights reveal not just what happened, but what retailers need to prepare for in 2025.
Key Findings
- Black Friday 2024 became the biggest online shopping day of the year with £1.12 billion in sales
- Saturday and Sunday outperformed Black Friday for total sales volume across the UK
- Mobile devices handled 56% of all online holiday spending, totalling £14.5 billion
- Gen Z drove the return to physical stores, with 82% planning in-store purchases
- TikTok Shop tripled its performance, generating over $100 million in a single day of sales
- Buy Now Pay Later services reached £117.2 million on Black Friday alone, which was 10.5% of online spend
1. Record Online Spending
UK shoppers smashed all expectations on Black Friday 2024, spending £1.12 billion online on November 29th. This was a solid 7.2% increase from the £1.04 billion spent in 2023, making it officially the biggest single online shopping day of the year.
Black Friday fell after most people’s monthly paydays, giving consumers more confidence to spend. Combined with improved consumer sentiment compared to the cost-of-living crisis impacts of 2023, it created the perfect storm for record-breaking sales for online retailers.
The extended holiday season from 1st November to 31st December reached £25.8 billion in total spending, so the momentum carried well beyond just the Black Friday weekend itself.
2. Mobile is the Default Way to Shop
£14.5 billion was spent via mobile during the holiday period – a 7.4% growth from last year and accounting for 56% of total online spend.
Retailers that recognised this trend early reaped the rewards. Those that invested in mobile optimisation, app-only discounts, and push notifications saw much better engagement with Black Friday shoppers throughout the weekend.
What’s particularly interesting is that this mobile-first approach wasn’t just about younger demographics – it cut across all age groups, suggesting that mobile shopping has well and truly become the norm rather than the exception.
3. Gen-Z Drives In-Store Shopping Resurgence
The return of in-store shopping was led by none other than Gen Z. While you would think that younger shoppers prefer online shopping, Black Friday 2024 told a different story entirely.
86% of Gen Z planned to participate in Black Friday sales, with an impressive 82% intending to make in-store purchases. This generation averaged £181 in spending, showing they weren’t just browsing – they came to buy.
But it was Millennials who really opened their wallets, with an average planned spend of £188 – £7 more than Gen Z. What made this particularly interesting was how both generations blended online research with physical shopping, creating an omnichannel experience.
While Gen Zers were shopping in-store, both footfall and online sales peaked between 5-6pm – when 25% of Black Friday and 27% of Cyber Monday orders were placed. Retail parks and shopping centres also saw double-digit footfall growth after 5pm, suggesting people were combining their post-work shopping trips with physical and digital purchases.
4. Electronics & Fashion Dominated Sales
Electronics maintained its crown as the most popular Black Friday category, with research finding that 49% of shoppers focused on technology. Products like game consoles (Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PS5)and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K led UK sales on Amazon’s platform.
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The homeware and kitchen category had an explosive growth with a 105% sales uplift. Dehumidifiers had a 75% average increase in sales, and coffee machines and air fryers also surged.
Health and supplements showed remarkable growth, with a 263% uplift reflecting continued consumer focus on wellness. Vitamin D products specifically saw a 71% spike, suggesting that the pandemic’s impact on health consciousness is still in mind during the winter holiday season.
5. Sustainability & Charitable Campaigns Are In
While traditional Black Friday is all about discounts and deals, alternative campaigns focusing on giving back and environmental responsibility gained serious momentum, showing consumers increasingly care about values and value.
Giving Tuesday raised over £20 million in donations, demonstrating that the appetite for charitable giving during the traditional shopping season is very real and growing.
Give Back Friday campaigns were very popular alternatives, with companies like Zen Fundraising donating £500 each to three charities based on community nominations. Nutriment’s “You Buy, We Donate” campaign also resulted in donations of 25,852 meals to rescue charities, outdoing their 2023 target.
Environmental initiatives like ‘Green Friday’ campaigns work well, like when Trees for Streets encouraged tree sponsorship instead of shopping. “Buy Nothing New Day” was an ‘ethical alternative’, urging people to support local reuse networks like charity shops.
These campaigns reflected growing consumer awareness of overconsumption and environmental impact, suggesting that sustainability is becoming a genuine differentiator rather than just marketing speak.
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6. TikTok Shop & AI Has Changed the Way We Buy
TikTok Shop generated over $100 million in single-day sales, tripling 2023’s figures and proving that social platforms are no longer just for discovery – they’re becoming serious sales channels.
Categories like beauty, fashion, and homeware led the surge, with brands leveraging live shopping events and influencer partnerships to drive sales. The live shopping format appealed across age groups, combining entertainment with commerce in ways traditional eCommerce couldn’t match.
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AI-driven personalisation improved conversion rates by 9% for retailers using these technologies. The impact was particularly noticeable in product recommendations and dynamic pricing, where AI could respond to real-time demand and browsing patterns to optimise the shopping experience.
What’s particularly interesting is how these technologies worked together. Shoppers would discover products on TikTok, research them using AI-powered comparison tools, and then complete purchases through whatever channel offered the best experience – whether that was the brand’s app, website, or even back on the social platform itself.
This seamless integration of discovery, research, and purchase across multiple touchpoints indicates a shift in the retail customer journey.
7. BNPL Becomes a Normal Payment Choice
Buy Now Pay Later services officially moved from an alternative payment method to a mainstream choice during Black Friday 2024. UK shoppers spent £117.2 million through BNPL services on Black Friday alone, a 15.6% increase compared to 2023, representing 10.5% of total online spend.
Holiday season BNPL spending reached £1.6 billion from November 1-29, while annual BNPL spending totalled £3.6 billion during the holiday season – up 9.1% from 2023. Cyber Monday saw £152.8 million spent through BNPL services, showing that this wasn’t just a Black Friday phenomenon.
Klarna led usage at 59.9%, followed closely by PayPal Pay at 58.7%. Research reveals that nearly 75% of Britons have now used BNPL services.
This mainstream adoption of BNPL reflects changing attitudes towards credit and spending, particularly among younger consumers who view these services as a budgeting tool rather than traditional credit.
For retailers, BNPL is so important for capturing sales from customers who want to spread payments, especially for higher-ticket items during peak shopping periods.
What can we learn for Black Friday 2025?
Black Friday has become Black Friday Weekend
The biggest lesson from 2024? Black Friday is no longer just about Friday. In the UK, Saturday and Sunday outperformed Friday for sales volume, as shoppers used their leisure time over the weekend rather than rushing to buy on the day itself. Smart retailers continued their best Black Friday sales throughout the weekend to capture this extended shopping behaviour.
The campaign extensions went even further than the weekend. Many retailers stretched their Black Friday promotions well beyond a single day, with some shoppers starting their holiday shopping lists as early as September. Searches for “Black Friday Deals 2024” peaked in late October, showing that consumer interest builds much earlier than retailers who offer Black Friday deals need to prepare.
So when you’re thinking about your fulfilment, this means preparing for sustained demand across multiple days rather than one intense 24-hour period. The weekend shopping pattern also gives logistics teams more time to process and dispatch orders, potentially reducing the strain on delivery networks.
Discounts Drive Sales
The discount levels in 2024 were much more generous than in 2023, with retailers offering some of the best deals we’ve seen. Electronics hit 30.1% off on Cyber Monday, apparel reached 23.2%, and toys averaged 26.1% off. These deep discounts helped fuel the category surges we saw across the weekend, with bargain hunters responding strongly to the increased savings.
For 2025 planning, retailers need to factor in consumer expectations for substantial savings. The bar has been raised, and with 76% of shoppers saying they will only do some Black Friday shopping if they find appealing discounts, they will likely expect similar or deeper discount levels to drive participation in 2025.
Retailers will need to balance margin protection with the competitive pressure to offer compelling promotions that capture their market share.
Be Prepared for Cyber Weekend 2025 with Delta Fulfilment
Black Friday 2025 is on November 28th, and with it just around the corner, now’s the time to start preparing your fulfilment operations. The 2024 data shows high order volumes throughout Black Friday week, not just on the Friday itself. The festive season will likely follow the same extended pattern, with sustained demand across multiple days.
Your fulfilment operation needs to handle:
- Extended promotional periods (not just single-day spikes)
- Higher order volumes requiring fast processing
- Weekend delivery expectations from consumers who shop on Saturday/Sunday
- Inventory management during peak demand periods
At Delta Fulfilment, our warehouse management system scales automatically during peak periods. Our integrated technology handles orders from all your sales channels, making sure nothing gets missed during the rush.
We’ve helped retailers manage Black Friday weeks before and understand the operational demands of the festive season. Our network of trusted couriers ensures your customers receive their orders quickly, and our real-time inventory management prevents stockouts during critical sales periods.
Ready to get prepared for Black Friday 2025? Contact us today to discuss your peak season requirements.