Black Friday 2025 online sales by the numbers
U.S. shoppers spent a record $11.8B online on Black Friday 2025. That was a growth of about 9 percent year over year. Adobe Analytics reported strong online momentum and Mastercard confirmed eCommerce growth outpaced in-store sales.
At a glance (U.S.)
• Total online sales: $11.8B
• YoY growth: around 9 percent
• Mobile share: about 58.6 percent of purchases (roughly $5.1B)
• BNPL spend: about $761.8M on the day
• AI influence: $14.2B globally and about $3B in the U.S. guided by AI and agents
TL;DR: Record spending, AI-assisted discovery, mobile-first purchases and BNPL growth defined 2025. Stores that skipped mobile optimization, AI personalization or flexible payment options likely missed out on revenue.
Why this matters for SMBs
It is critical to understand that these Black Friday online sales trends are not short-term spikes. They shape how shoppers behave through Cyber Week and into 2026.
Your 2026 strategy should be built around them.
Let us look at some key lessons we learned from Black Friday 2025.
1. AI powered personalization is changing everything
Shoppers used AI agents, chatbots and smarter recommendation engines to find deals faster. AI has largely influenced the retail market. Today, consumers are confidently leaning into agentic shopping, contributing to higher conversions.
Where AI made an impact
• Guided discovery that narrowed choices quickly
• Smarter product bundles and upsells that lifted average order value
• Automated service that reduced drop-offs during questions about shipping, returns or sizing
• Predictive offers that reached the right customer groups at the right time
Ways to make AI work for your business using Bluehost
• Use the Bluehost AI Website Builder to launch a WordPress and WooCommerce store, then customize it with WonderBlocks and get UX guidance through WonderHelp.
• Add AI-powered recommendations, search and chat through WooCommerce extensions. Connect CreativeMail to automate post-purchase emails.
Bluehost includes performance, security and marketing tools with 24/7 support to help you go live faster.
2. Mobile commerce is now the default
Most Black Friday purchases now happen on smartphones. Mobile phones have clearly become the primary shopping environment.
Mobile readiness checklist
- Load key pages in under two to three seconds
- Use thumb-friendly layouts with large tap targets and sticky add to cart buttons
- Use optimized images and avoid layout shifts
- Keep checkout simple with a single page flow, guest checkout and wallet payments
- Show trust markers like return policies, delivery dates and badges above the fold
- Use app-like search with autosuggest and memory
- Track behavior by device and operating system to understand drop-offs
Bluehost boost
Use responsive WordPress themes, caching, a CDN and Jetpack’s mobile features. Then, A/B test product page blocks with WonderBlocks to improve add-to-cart rates on smaller screens.
Also read: WonderSuite: How to Build and Publish a site with WonderBlocks
3. Buy Now Pay Later is gaining ground
Shoppers leaned into flexible payments. Adobe forecasted $2 billion in BNPL spending this festival season as customers seek convenience. Seasonal BNPL volume is tracking around 11 percent growth in 2025, especially in electronics and apparel.
Why SMBs should care
• BNPL can increase average order value
• Younger shoppers prefer installment options
• Shoppers expect BNPL to sit alongside cards and digital wallets
How to offer BNPL on WooCommerce
- Update WooCommerce and WooCommerce Payments
- Add a BNPL extension like Affirm, Klarna or PayPal Pay Later
- Test messaging such as “as low as $X per month” on PDPs and carts
- Confirm return and refund rules with your provider
- Track conversion, AOV and abandonment rates for BNPL vs non-BNPL
4. Social and influencer commerce is no longer optional
TikTok Shop and Instagram Shops grew up this season. More brands joined TikTok Shop, live selling accelerated and creators drove strong activity with limited-time bundles.
What stood out
• Growth in livestream and affiliate blended formats
• Faster product discovery from short video
• Social content that warmed shoppers before they reached a brand’s site
Build your social to store engine
• Use YITH WooCommerce Affiliates for creator payouts
• Sync product catalogs to Instagram and TikTok and highlight UGC on product pages
• Trigger email and SMS through CreativeMail when social visitors add items to the cart
Reports show steady year-over-year growth in socially driven sales. Even if the channel is still single-digit for many SMBs, it deserves a defined strategy.
How small businesses can prepare for 2026
Here is a simple roadmap to help you get ready for the year ahead.
January to March
• Review 2025 funnel data, device behavior and return reasons
• Fix speed and UX issues, starting with mobile
• Clean up analytics and customer lifetime value data
April to June
• Pilot AI-powered search, recommendations and chat
• Build your creator and affiliate lineup
• Standardize BNPL messaging and eligibility
July to September
• Create evergreen guides, gift lists and bundles for SEO
• Plan tiered promotions and shipping thresholds
• Prepare your site on Bluehost with caching, CDN, WAF, backups and staging
October to November
• Run traffic stress tests and finalize failover plans
• Launch early access promos for VIP customers
• Set up daily monitoring for pricing, margins and stock
Final thoughts
Black Friday 2025 showed how quickly eCommerce is shifting. Shoppers now expect faster sites, smarter recommendations, simpler checkouts and flexible payments. These habits will only grow stronger through 2026. Small businesses that adapt early will feel the biggest lift in conversions, loyalty and revenue.
If you want a simple way to prepare your store for the year ahead, explore how Bluehost can help you run a faster, more secure, AI-ready commerce site that is built for growth.
Explore Bluehost WordPress Commerce to launch or enhance your store with performance, security, AI tools and WooCommerce integrations in one place.
Write A Comment