If you think everything seems expensive this year, you’re not alone. The high cost of living is on many Americans’ minds heading into the tail end of the year—a period defined by ceaseless shopping, whether it’s for the Thanksgiving menu or a last-minute gift for under the tree.
Americans need to buy stuff (perhaps not so much stuff), but they’re also feeling the pinch of persistent inflation, chaotic tariffs, and a frozen job market in 2025. How those forces will play out this holiday shopping season remains to be seen.
According to a recent survey from the consulting firm Deloitte, more people will be shopping this Black Friday through Cyber Monday, but they plan to spend less. Consumers said they plan to spend an average of $622 during the stretched-out shopping holiday, down 4% from last year—the first decline in five years. Unsurprisingly, shoppers who planned to cut their spending pointed to higher living costs and financial constraints in the decision.
Some generational differences emerged. Gen X shoppers and boomers reported plans to reduce their spending during the shopping holiday, but Gen Z and millennial shoppers said they would stay the course and keep their spending levels the same this year. With the explosion of online shopping, lining up at the mall before sunrise for doorbuster sales might seem like a relic of the past. However, 72% of Gen Z shoppers actually said they plan to shop in person this year.
“While most shoppers are showing restraint this season, the spending power of Gen Z is growing—they are responsible for about $20 of every $100 of holiday dollars spent, compared to just $4 five years ago,” Deloitte retail strategy leader Brian McCarthy said. “And we expect they are headed back to the stores on Black Friday to take part in the excitement of the day.” People from both higher- and lower-income households said they planned to cut back on spending this year, but those in the range between $100,000 and $200,000 reported plans to spend 5% more this year.
The National Retail Federation estimates that a record 186.9 million people plan to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday (the Monday following Black Friday) this year. That projection is up by 3 million shoppers in comparison with 2024. During this period, Black Friday is expected to reign supreme among deal-seekers, drawing an estimated 130.4 million people to shop the day after Thanksgiving. Saturday and Sunday aren’t full-blown shopping holidays of their own, but Cyber Monday—a relatively recent invention—will likely continue to gain ground, luring around half as many shoppers as Black Friday itself.
Pushing back on Black Friday
To draw attention to the cost-of-living crisis, a coalition of organizations is calling for shoppers to sit out this Black Friday. A grassroots movement known as the “Mass Blackout,” is urging Americans to boycott online and in-store shopping, including digital purchases, for one week, starting on Tuesday, November 25. While the Mass Blackout website calls out the Trump administration’s coziness with corporations, it’s not explicitly a Democratic effort.
“Big business is funding authoritarian candidates while walking back public commitments to civil rights, labor protections, diversity, and democracy,” the website states. “This isn’t about left vs. right. This is about people vs. power.” While the coalition wants Americans to spend less this holiday season, it still encourages participants to give their money to small businesses and local shops.
Another major boycott is looking to hit the biggest names in retail where it hurts this holiday season. The “We Ain’t Buying It” movement, tied to progressive groups like Indivisible and the “No Kings” protests, is similarly calling for a shopping blackout over Thanksgiving weekend, specifically targeting Amazon, Target, and Home Depot over their deference to the Trump administration and their reversal of DEI policies. “We’ll send a clear message: Until they cease collaborating with this administration’s harmful policies, our dollars will go elsewhere,” the campaign’s website states.