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SENSOR TOWER · SEEMA SHAH · DECEMBER 2024
Black Friday: US Retailers May Get Coal This Holiday Season
Black Weekend remains a key selling period for US retailers, though its importance is waning, as holiday deals and promotions are increasingly pulled forward into October. In 2024, mobile app results were weak across the US retail cohort for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Value players, such as Walmart and the wholesale warehouses (e.g. Costco) are seeing gains, as consumers look to stretch their discretionary income.
Key Takeaways:
While Black Weekend continues to be a key promotional and sales period for retailers, the pull forward of deals and events into October has lessened the urgency consumers used to feel for the various sales and doorbusters
Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday downloads for the US retail cohort declined 30%, 30% and 12% YoY, respectively, while DAU trends were also soft, down 22%, 2% and 1% YoY on Black Friday, Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, respectively; a significant portion of these declines were driven by a slowdown at Chinese e-tailers, Shein and Temu, whose robust 2023 growth made for difficult comparisons as those apps hit saturation in the US market
Within the US retail cohort, marketplaces and apparel were the softest categories, with downloads falling 52% and 21% YoY, respectively, on Black Friday
Notably, the wholesale category’s downloads and DAUs were positive, as consumers continue to pivot to retailers offering value and quality, in contrast to Temu, and as these retailers evolve their digital and omnichannel offerings; the pet category also saw rising downloads and DAUs on a YoY basis, likely propelled by the sector’s bump in ad spend, led by Chewy
So far in the 2024 holiday season (Oct-MTD Dec 2024), MAU growth has been paltry across the US retail cohort (-3.1% YoY), with a few exceptions. Consumers' focus on value is evident, given the 2% YoY growth in marketplace MAUs, led by 8% and 1% YoY growth at Walmart and Target, respectively, offsetting Temu’s weakness
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