Shoppers curtail Black Friday plans to stretch spending: ‘They are using every tool that they can,’ expert says

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

But amid concerns about the economy, persistent inflation and President Donald Trump’s latest wave of tariff hikes, shoppers may not be as eager to splurge this season.

Consumers plan to spend an average of $622 between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, down 4% from last year, according to a new Deloitte survey released Monday. The overall belt-tightening was largely due to a higher cost of living and financial constraints, Deloitte found.

The Black Friday-Cyber Monday week is typically the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, although many shoppers started earlier this year to make the most of sales events like Amazon Prime Day and to get ahead of tariff-induced price increases.

Overall, shoppers are trying to spread out their spending to be “more strategic,” according to Stephanie Carls, a retail insights expert at RetailMeNot. That also includes stacking savings, such as pairing sales events with promo codes or coupons as well as cash-back offers.