I wondered what record Black Friday spending might say about inflation and the possibility of a recession, but my posts raised questions rather than reaching conclusions.
On November 29, 2025, I shared a post asking, “Recession when?” The quoted post attributed to @DeItaone reported that U.S. online Black Friday sales reached a record $11.8 billion, up 9.1% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics. Adobe expected Americans to spend $5.5 billion on Saturday and $5.9 billion on Sunday; Salesforce reported $18 billion in total Black Friday spending.
The quoted report named luxury apparel and accessories among top sellers and said shoppers bought fewer items despite higher spending, attributing that pattern to rising prices. It also described quieter in-store traffic and said many consumers were worried, but the captured text cuts off after “worried a,” so it does not reveal what they feared.
At 18:45 UTC that day, I shared another post about the reported record $11.8 billion in online U.S. Black Friday sales, up 9.1% year over year, and wondered whether inflation played a role. I offered no evidence or answer, so inflation’s role remains an open question rather than a conclusion.
Related: consumer spending and debt, ecommerce demand patterns and data, influencer content drives purchases