Bluecore’s 2024 Black Friday Benchmarks

Retail’s Holiday Identification and Customer Movement Insights Report

251 million shopper events. 146 brands. 8 verticals. 21 charts.

While retail marketers were in the trenches during the busiest time of year, our team of retail strategists was digging into the data. We analyzed billions of orders, sales, and shopper events in order to understand industry trends and how top retailers moved their customers through the lifecycle on Black Friday.

Read on for our findings and resources you can use in your reporting meetings.

Industry Wide Insights

Site Traffic and Identification
The identification issue

You can’t engage a shopper without first knowing who they are. Since last year, we’ve seen an overall increase in identification rates, though identification remains a major opportunity across the board. The average retailer was able to identify just 29% of their Black Friday shoppers.

Spend Trends
More research, more signals

Black Friday has become more of a state of mind than a shopping day, with sales starting in October. Whether they were shopping earlier or holding out for bigger discounts, customers ordered — and spent — less than they did last year.

Buyer Type Breakdowns
Enterprise brands benefitted

Repeat purchases are the lifeblood of retail and we saw them increase by 2.3% YoY, with a major difference between enterprise and mid-market retailers. Enterprise brands are investing far more in retention strategies amidst rising acquisition costs, with 51% of their Black Friday sales coming from repeat buyers

Campaign Performance
Purchase intent and personalization

Holiday shopping can be a frenzy and the top performing campaigns, both email and site, capitalized on high purchase intent. However, welcome emails also had strong conversion rates, which point to retailers capitalizing on early engagement.

Site Traffic and Identification
Site Traffic and Identification
The identification issue

You can’t engage a shopper without first knowing who they are. Since last year, we’ve seen an overall increase in identification rates, though identification remains a major opportunity across the board. The average retailer was able to identify just 29% of their Black Friday shoppers.

Spend Trends
Spend Trends
More research, more signals

Black Friday has become more of a state of mind than a shopping day, with sales starting in October. Whether they were shopping earlier or holding out for bigger discounts, customers ordered — and spent — less than they did last year.

Buyer Type Breakdowns
Buyer Type Breakdowns
Enterprise brands benefitted

Repeat purchases are the lifeblood of retail and we saw them increase by 2.3% YoY, with a major difference between enterprise and mid-market retailers. Enterprise brands are investing far more in retention strategies amidst rising acquisition costs, with 51% of their Black Friday sales coming from repeat buyers

Campaign Performance
Campaign Performance
Purchase intent and personalization

Holiday shopping can be a frenzy and the top performing campaigns, both email and site, capitalized on high purchase intent. However, welcome emails also had strong conversion rates, which point to retailers capitalizing on early engagement.

Black Friday Vertical Performance

Filter by vertical:
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Apparel Executive Summary

Apparel retailers were able to identify an average of 36% of their shoppers — significantly above the 29% average. Because you can’t move a customer through the lifecycle without knowing who they are, these brands’ identification rates set a strong foundation for Black Friday sales. Apparel brands also saw among the highest increase in repeat purchases, which highlights the value of identification.

While apparel retailers excelled at customer movement  — moving customers through the lifecycle to create a more active base  they lagged at one stage of the lifecycle: acquisition. Because those costs are up, many brands invested more in retention strategies. For apparel retailers, site traffic was down 5.3% while order volume decreased 3.9% year over year. Because they generally excel at identification and retention, this represents an opportunity to create a larger base of loyalists.

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Apparel retailers’ site traffic decreased by 5.3% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Apparel retailers had an average identification rate of 36% compared with the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

1.5% of apparel buyers had been recently identified, slightly higher than the 1.3%

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, apparel retailers’ repeat purchase rate increased by 4.1%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise apparel retailers saw 57% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market apparel retailers saw 38% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average.

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

Department Stores Executive Summary

Department stores are often one-stop shops for, well, everything. That explains the 6.5% increase in order volume: one of the only verticals to improve there. Department stores also excelled at stoking loyalty, with the largest percentage of repeat buyers. In fact, just 30% of enterprise department store Black Friday buyers were new, showing how these retailers benefitted from driving purchases from their retained customer base. They far outperformed almost every vertical we captured in this year’s data in terms of driving value from existing customers, a key driver for retail profitability.

Department stores have loyal retained customer bases, they’re also known for being heavily promotional during peak shopping days. The average vertical saw a 1.2% decrease in average order value. For department stores, it was 2.5%, one of the few areas where this vertical was below average.

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Department stores’ site traffic increased by 7.5% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Department stores had an average identification rate of 31% compared with the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

0.9% of department store customers had been recently identified, just under the 1.3% average.

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, department stores’ repeat purchase rate increased by 0.8%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise department stores saw 71% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market department stores saw 46% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average.

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

Footwear Executive Summary

Footwear brands do a good job striking while the iron is hot. While their identification rates were slightly below average, they were steps ahead every other vertical in terms of capitalizing on those newly identified shoppers. Footwear retailers converted 1.7% of them on Black Friday, compared with the 1.3% average.

Footwear retailers have a one-and-done problem. They’ve made strides in improving repeat purchases — with a 1.5% increase, they were in the middle of the pack — but lag when it comes to building retention. Nearly two-thirds of enterprise footwear buyers were new ones. At 74%, that number was even higher on the mid-market side.

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Footwear retailers’ site traffic decreased by 0.4% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Footwear retailers had an average identification rate of 27%, slightly lower than the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

1.7% of footwear buyers had been recently identified, higher than the 1.3% average.

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, footwear retailers’ repeat purchase rate increased by 1.5%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise footwear retailers saw 33% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market footwear retailers saw 25% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average.

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

Health & Beauty Executive Summary

Black Friday put a ring light behind the fact that cross-category buyers should be the ultimate goal for health & beauty brands. While they had the highest average order values and strong retention, those retained buyers didn’t buy as much this year. Order volume was down 10.1% year-over-year. Health & beauty retailers weren’t especially promotional this year and many of them started their Black Friday sales in October, which may explain the decline in order volume.

Black Friday put a ring light behind the fact that cross-category buyers should be the ultimate goal for health & beauty brands. While they had the highest average order values and strong retention, those active buyers didn’t buy as much this year. Order volume was down 10.1% year-over-year. Health & beauty retailers weren’t especially promotional this year and many of them started their Black Friday sales in October, which may explain the decline in order volume.

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Health & beauty retailers’ site traffic decreased by 2.2% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Health & beauty retailers had an average identification rate of 27%, slightly lower than the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

1% of health & beauty buyers had been recently identified, just under the 1.3% average.

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, health & beauty retailers’ repeat purchase rate decreased by 1.6%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise health & beauty retailers saw 70% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market health & beauty retailers saw 37% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average.

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

Home Executive Summary

Home retailers had one of the highest repeat purchase rates last Black Friday and this year, they brought down the house. The average vertical increased repeat purchases by 2.3%; for home retailers, it was 7.3%.

Despite improving repeat purchase rates, new buyers made up 66% of sales for enterprise home retailers and 72% for their mid-market counterparts. By improving their below average identification rates, these brands can build more robust customer profiles and eventually, make those repeat buyers stickier.

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Home retailers’ site traffic decreased by 14.2% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Home retailers had an average identification rate of 23% compared with the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

0.9% of home retailers’ buyers had been recently identified, compared with the 1.3% average.

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, home retailers’ repeat purchase rate increased by 7.3%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise home saw 34% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market home retailers saw 28% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average. 

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

Jewelry & Accessories Executive Summary

Most verticals saw year-over-year decreases in site traffic and order volume. Jewelry & accessories retailers outshone the competition in both areas. They experienced a 20.1% increase in order volume, significantly higher than the -2.7% average.

It seems jewelry & accessories retailers prioritized acquisition this holiday season. Spikes in sessions and order volume aside, these brands lagged behind in every other metric. The lowest identification rates — 17%, compared to the 29% average — made way for the highest instances of new buyers. What’s more, jewelry & accessories retailers’ repeat purchase rates were down 6.4% year-over-year.

 

 

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Jewelry and accessories retailers’ site traffic increased by 23.8% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Jewelry and accessories retailers had an average identification rate of 17% compared with the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

1% of jewelry and accessories buyers had been recently identified, just under the 1.3% average.

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, jewelry and accessories retailers’ repeat purchase rate decreased by 6.4%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise jewelry and accessories retailers saw 25% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market jewelry and accessories retailers saw 20% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average.

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

Luxury Executive Summary

The luxury vertical comprises a combination of department stores, and footwear and jewelry & accessories retailers. We omitted luxury from the vertical comparisons in order to avoid counting these brands twice. Instead, we looked at how luxury retailers compared against the overall averages which are denoted as general market retailers.

High price points and affluent customers give luxury retailers a natural advantage in strong spend trends. Both of those metrics were down overall for the industry, though luxury buyers ordered 5% more and spent 8% more than they did last year. Despite higher identification rates than their general market counterparts, luxury retailers had lower repeat purchase rates. This shows an opportunity to cultivate deeper relationships with customers, many of whom may be gift-givers.

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Luxury retailers’ site traffic increased by 7.7% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.5% seen by general market retailers.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Luxury
General Market
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Luxury retailers had an average identification rate of 34% compared with 28% for general market retailers.

3/4
Percentage of newly identified shoppers who bought on Black Friday
Luxury
General Market

Luxury retailers converted 0.8% of their newly identified shoppers, compared with the 1.4% average of general market brands. 

1/2
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year
Luxury
General Market

From last year, luxury retailers’ repeat purchase rate increased by 1%, compared with the general market retailers’ average increase of 2.5%.

2/2
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New
Retained
Reactivated

27% of luxury retailers’ sales came from repeat buyers, compared with the 36% overall average.

Sports & Hobbies Executive Summary

Sports & hobbies retailers tend to have niche audiences, giving them a leg up when it comes to loyalty. Our Black Friday data backs that up. A whopping 66% of enterprise sports & hobby retailers’ Black Friday sales came from repeat buyers, which gives them the gold. These brands saw a 5.8% jump in average order value, the only vertical besides health & beauty to increase year-over-year.

 

This holiday season, retailers in the sports & hobbies space seemed to focus more on growing relationships with retained customers rather than acquiring new ones. Though sports & hobbies retailers have so many loyal customers, they had the lowest site traffic, which dropped by 12.3% year-over-year, and orders were down by 10.9%.

 

1/4
How Black Friday site traffic changed year-over-year

Sports & hobbies retailers’ site traffic decreased by 12.3% year-over-year, compared with the average decrease of 6.2%.

2/4
Site traffic breakdown: Desktop vs. Mobile
Desktop
Mobile

Mobile reigned supreme on Black Friday, accounting for 79% of site traffic.

3/4
Percentage of unidentified, newly identified, and previously identified Black Friday site visitors
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
Unidentified
Newly identified
Previously identified

Sports & hobbies retailers had an average identification rate of 26% compared with the overall average of 29%.

4/4
Percentage of newly identified customers who bought on Black Friday
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total

0.8% of sports & hobbies buyers had been recently identified, compared with the 1.3% average.

1/4
How Black Friday repeat purchase rates changed year-over-year

From last year, sports & hobbies retailers’ repeat purchase rate increased by 2.4%, compared with the overall average increase of 2.3%.

2/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Enterprise)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Enterprise sports & hobbies retailers saw 66% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 51% average.

3/4
Percentage of Black Friday purchases by buyer type (Mid-Market)
Apparel
Department Stores
Footwear
Health & Beauty
Home
Jewelry & Accessories
Sports & Hobbies
Total
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

Mid-market sports & hobbies retailers saw 39% of their sales come from repeat buyers, compared with the 33% average.

4/4
Percentage of Black Friday sales from new, retained, and reactivated buyers
New buyers
Retained buyers
Reactivated buyers

On Black Friday, 64% of purchases were made by new buyers, while retained and reactivated buyers accounted for 24% and 13 of sales, respectively. 

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Black Friday Campaign Performance

The personalized batch email campaigns that drove the most purchases

While people think about what they need to buy, replenishment campaigns serve as strategic reminders. They took the cake on Black Friday.

New arrivals
0.1x
One-time buyers
0.1x
Non-buyers
1x
Wishlist
2x
Replenishment
3x
The triggers that drove the most purchases

Adding an item to a cart, and getting as far as the checkout page, show a lot of purchase intent. It’s no surprise that these triggers converted the most customers.

Post-purchase
0.1x
Abandon search
0.1x
Back in stock
1x
Low inventory
1x
Price drop
1x
Welcome
3x
Abandon cart
8x
Abandoned checkout
15x
Click-to-conversion rate of site campaigns

When someone is about to leave a page, a well-executed Exit Prevention pop-up can let them know what they’re about to miss out on. Retailers saw the most success with these on Black Friday.

Onsite message
0.1x
Product recs
2x
Exit prevention
12x
Email capture rate of site campaigns

Signing up for these notifications provides valuable data about purchase intent — and far more emails than other site campaigns.

Entry capture
0.1x
NMBIS
3.6x
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