The Couch Won Black Friday 2023

Black Friday stats I've read over and over confirm it. Retail stores growth seems flat to slightly up, while digital is up much larger. Consumers are valuing convenience - why get off the couch to get the same discounts I can get on the couch?

Mastercard Spendingpulse reported that Friday eCommerce sales increased 8.5% y/y while in-store sales increased 1.1%.

For consumers, the deals are already revealed. For retailers, all the discount coupons have been distributed. Mostly, Cyber Monday is going to look like a more muted version of Black Friday because most consumers knew what the best deals were the week before Black Friday, and so they could prepare for what to buy sooner, and what to buy at the peak.

The last few years, Cyber Monday was still significant. This year, I expect it to be more muted. I have a long list of shopping items. Some brands seem to be already pulling back their discounts slightly. You will get some of the "last chance" shopping of course. Why not? You still need to buy those gifts.

But on a day which used to be "the digital version of Black Friday", we seem to have just had that -- on the actual Black Friday. We'll see if consumers agree with me or not.

Sorry Scott Silverman but we might mark 2023 as the day your holiday died.