News Briefs

GumGum, a contextual intelligence company that uses artificial intelligence to analyze content and determine consumer trends, revealed Black Friday shopper trends based on analysis of hundreds of thousands of digital web pages during the month of November.

As the holiday season kicked off, Black Friday remained a critical moment for brands to capture consumer attention. GumGum’s contextual analysis highlighted the trends that shaped Black Friday 2024, from Amazon's dominance to surprising players in the grocery space, per a media release shared with P2PI. 

Key findings include:

• Amazon dominated Black Friday conversations with 43.6 million mentions from Nov. 1-27 — far outpacing Walmart (5.9 million) and Target (3.7 million).
• Mentions of Black Friday surged from 2.1 million in October to 2.8 million in November.
• Affordable fashion brands like H&M (975,000 mentions) and Target (3.7 million mentions) leaned heavily into Black Friday messaging, while luxury brands like Dior and Chanel fell behind.
• Tech/electronics brands dominated search traffic, led by Samsung (7.9 million mentions) and LG (3.4 million). High-profile products such as the Samsung Galaxy were key drivers.
• Black Friday isn’t just about shopping anymore — “it’s evolved into a holiday ritual,” GumGum said. Retailers like Kroger (814,000 mentions) and Aldi (3.1 million mentions) leaned into Thanksgiving dinner promotions, reflecting the event’s growing ties to family and festivities.

Commerce media company Criteo, which has insight into $1 trillion of annual e-commerce sales, shared Black Friday and Cyber Monday data with P2PI. The data looks at trends from the first 12 hours of Cyber Monday (midnight to noon ET) and compares sales results from that period to those from 2023. 

Perhaps most notably, Cyber Monday outshined Black Friday. While online transactions in the U.S. saw only a 2% year-over-year (YoY) increase on Black Friday, Cyber Monday showed significantly stronger performance. During the first hours of the day, online transactions surged by 14% YoY, with unit sales experiencing double-digit growth across multiple verticals, including:

• Luggage and bags: 41% 
• Animals and pet supplies: +33% 
• Apparel and accessories: +33%
• Cameras and optics: +23% 
• Sporting goods : +22% 

“This year’s Black Friday results point to a strong holiday sales season, with consumers eager to spend on products despite a turbulent economic environment,” Criteo’s executive managing director for the Americas, Sherry Smith, told P2PI. “This heightened interest is a positive signal for brands and retailers that are looking to boost sales before the end of the year, and now is the time to continue the momentum by reaching consumers with personalized messaging wherever and whenever they shop — whether it's online, mobile, on social media or in-person. As AI investments surge, brands and retailers are poised to embrace AI-driven strategies — such as creative innovation and predictive commerce marketing — to eliminate guesswork, capitalize on growing consumer interest, and cultivate lasting customer loyalty in the year ahead.”