Thanksgiving Weekend GMV in the U.S. to reach US$30 billion in 2024

It’s that time of the year again, and whether you are fed up with the festive season or not – Christmas is just around the corner. Snowy landscapes, Christmas trees, candy canes, gingerbread, it all starts earlier and earlier every year, but now the end of November has arrived. This is a particularly important time in eCommerce, given the occurrence of Thanksgiving Weekend, which includes Black Friday, Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, after Prime Day in October and Singles’ Day a few weeks prior.

Thanksgiving Weekend sales to reach US$30.4 billion in 2024

ECDB predicts U.S. Thanksgiving Weekend GMV to total US$30.4 billion this year, up 9.3% from 2023. This rate outpaces the 8.7% growth of the overall U.S. market from 2023 to 2024. The steady increase over the past few years shows how significant shopping days have become for eCommerce: GMV concentrates on these discount events away from regular periods during the rest of the year.

Among the days, Cyber Monday generates the highest GMV (US$13.6 billion), but Black Friday has grown fastest in the past five years (at an average of 9.6%). The 9.3% growth rate of Thanksgiving Weekend contribute to the monthly revenues in U.S. eCommerce, together with the increased engagement of other shopping days.

For instance, the U.S. online market generated 10.0% and 10.1% of annual revenues in November and December of 2023 (compared to a monthly average value of 8.3%). These are the highest shares of the year, rendering November and December the most important eCommerce months. This is fueled by the occurrence of the biggest shopping days in short succession: Amazon Prime Day, Singles’ Day, Thanksgiving Weekend and Cyber Week.

Consumers buy gifts and stock up on everyday essentials

Retailers have been preparing for this time of year for months. Data shows that consumers wait for discount events to take advantage of the steep price reductions that retailers offer. Coinciding with the holidays, shopping events provide the perfect opportunity to buy holiday gifts, but multiple providers have revealed that in a tough economic climate, consumers also like to stock up on everyday essentials.

The best-selling categories during the holiday season in 2023 were Fashion, Electronics and Care Products. ECDB data confirms this trend: In Fashion, a monthly revenue share of 10.7% in November 2023 exceeded the U.S. market average of 10.0%. The same is true for Household Care, which generated a striking 11.1% in December 2023, compared to the market average of 10.1% that month.

A mutually reinforcing hype: Growing relevance of shopping days

Consumers’ propensity to wait for shopping days to splurge meets retailers’ preparation for the events – not for nothing does the length and participation of discount events grow as time passes. An increasing number of companies launch their own versions of discounts during Singles’ Day, Thanksgiving Weekend or Cyber Week in anticipation of growing order volumes. The holiday season is the most significant time of the year for many businesses and this trend is only expected to become more relevant as growth continues.