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“This is the only market where we’re seeing such high increases in average selling price. So there absolutely is a component of retailers trying to save margins because of the impact of the tariffs,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce.

With unemployment near a four-year high, shoppers have also become more selective. US consumer confidence sagged to a seven-month low in November, according to economic research group The Conference Board, with fewer households planning to buy motor vehicles, houses and other big-ticket items over the next six months, or to make vacation plans.

The richest 10 percent of Americans - those earning at least $250,000 annually - accounted for about 48 percent of all consumer spending in the second quarter of 2025, a steady increase from around 35 percent of spending in the mid-1990s, according to Moody’s Analytics.

“Higher income consumers are a little more resilient, and that’s why we’re seeing strong growth in categories like furniture and luxury,” said Schwartz.

Heather Cheatham, 50, of Lynchburg, Virginia, started her Black Friday shopping by sampling scents and hunting for Armani eye tints in LVMH’s Sephora at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. Cheatham did not give herself a budget, and she has already purchased gifts for her daughter at apparel company American Eagle Outfitters’ Aerie, stereo equipment for her son and a golf putter for her other son.

Black Friday looked different this year, according to Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at Circana, who spent the morning visiting stores and malls across New York and New Jersey. Gone were the early-morning rushes and long lines outside retailers.

Among the retailers Cohen visited, Target “won the morning,” he said, because it handed out swag bags to the first 100 customers. Walmart gained momentum later in the day as traffic picked up.

About an hour before sunup in freezing temperatures, Quantavius Shorter, 40, a diesel engine mechanic from Atlanta, was one of the first of only a dozen people waiting in line at 5:59 a.m. at the local Walmart in Atlanta’s Gresham Park neighborhood.

Shorter bought a Roku flat-screen smart TV for $298, a perfect discount for his smaller Christmas budget.

“This is usually $500,” said Shorter. “I’m here early because I expected it to sell out.”

In Europe, the shopping day was marked by strikes at Amazon warehouses in Germany, with separate protests also planned outside Zara stores in Spain. Meanwhile, Starbucks’ workers union also said they were escalating their ongoing indefinite strike to 26 more stores in the US on Black Friday.