Black Friday weekend delivered a historic surge in shoppers — more than any year on record — but the real story is what those crowds revealed about retail execution. Some brands capitalized on the moment with strong omnichannel experiences and meaningful promotions. Others reminded us how quickly customer excitement can turn into backlash when expectations aren’t met.
In this week’s newsletter, we break down the record-setting Thanksgiving weekend numbers, look at a major promotion that went sideways, and highlight what retailers can learn as we move deeper into the holiday season.
And don’t miss it: our upcoming Trakwell report on how the furniture and mattress industries performed on Black Friday is coming soon.
Today's Rundown
Here's a quick glimpse of what is in this week's newsletter.
- The High-Traffic Playbook: How to Convert Chaos into Sales: Download our latest guidebook and turn every rushed interaction into a calm, confident close.
- Repeat Strength: At Home exited bankruptcy with a $500 M financing deal and reopened 229 stores after closing 31.
- Compare your store: Download the Q3 Home Furnishing Benchmark Report while it is fresh off the press.
Notable News
Record Breaking Black Friday
The National Retail Federation reported a record-breaking 202.9 million shoppers over Thanksgiving weekend — the highest turnout in the history of the five-day holiday period. Consumers didn’t just show up; they showed up everywhere. In-store visits climbed, online shopping surged, and shoppers continued blending both channels as part of their holiday routines.
What stood out most is how balanced the growth was. 129.5 million people shopped in stores, a 3% increase, while 134.9 million shopped online, up 9% from last year. Black Friday held its crown as the busiest shopping day, but this year saw unusually strong lift on Saturday and Sunday as well — a sign that shoppers are spreading activity across the full weekend instead of concentrating it on a single day.
Consumers also spent more. Holiday-related purchases averaged $337.86 per shopper, up from $315 last year. Clothing, accessories, toys, and books/media led the gift categories, with a notable shift: books and media jumped ahead of gift cards for the first time in years, highlighting renewed interest in personal, “thoughtful” gifts over general-purpose ones.
On the digital side, mobile continues to dominate. Cyber Monday once again delivered massive online volume, with nearly 47 million shoppers buying from their phones — a sharp increase year over year. Retailers who invested in smoother mobile experiences clearly reaped the rewards.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming Trakwell report, where we’ll break down exactly how the furniture and mattress industries performed on Black Friday— including traffic, conversion, staffing impact, and what top retailers did differently.
Notable News
🎁 When a Black Friday Promo Backfires
Target tried to generate early-morning excitement with a Black Friday “first 100 shoppers” swag-bag giveaway — but it quickly turned into a PR headache. While a handful of “golden bags” included real prizes like gift cards or electronics, most shoppers who waited in line at 3–4 a.m. opened their bags to find candy samples, trial-size toiletries, and small novelty items. Social media lit up with frustration, calling the promotion disappointing and misleading.
Meanwhile, Lowe’s ran a similar giveaway but executed it far better: five-gallon buckets filled with useful home-improvement items and surprise perks that felt substantial. The contrast was clear — one promo built goodwill; the other eroded it.
The lesson for retailers: If you’re going to use scarcity, hype, or “first in line” mechanics, the reward has to feel worth the effort. Under-delivering doesn’t just miss the mark — it damages trust during the year’s most important retail weekend.
Retail Snippets
Profit Push: Walmart announced stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings, with its e-commerce growth outpacing in-store sales as customers continue shifting toward online convenience.
Store Shuffle: Kohl’s is accelerating its rollout of Sephora shop-ins after reporting higher traffic and improved basket size in locations that already feature the beauty partnership.
Home Revival: The home furnishings category saw a surprise uptick in September as consumers resumed spending on décor and accessories despite broader retail softness
Random Irrelevance
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