Someone who’s good at both math and Googling should tally up how many reports Deloitte consultants crank out in a year, it’s got to be at least 1,000. Today it’s a timely one: Deloitte’s 2023 Black Friday-Cyber Monday Survey.
Key takeaways from the survey of 4,318 consumers:
- Consumers plan to spend an average of $567 during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM) shopping events (Thursday, Nov. 23 – Monday, Nov. 27), up 13% from last year.
- Eighty-four percent of shoppers surveyed feel confident in their original budgets from this September and plan to spend the same or more.
- Year-over-year participation in BFCM remains steady with 8 in 10 planning to shop during the week.
- Millennials are expected to drive a significant share of spend during the BFCM period (43%); more than two-thirds (68%) plan to buy gifts for themselves.
Whoever came up with BFCM should immediately contract consultants to come up with a better name for Black Friday-Cyber Monday spending.

Cue the delighted cheers of retailers everywhere.

Fewer people are sitting holiday shopping out compared to the last two years (consumer participation rate of 95% in 2023 versus 92% in 2022 and 88% in 2021) despite the fact that almost three-quarters of people surveyed are expecting higher prices. Income-wise, it’s the $50K–$99K (+26%) and $200K+ (+22%) income groups who will be splurging most this year. Shout out interns.
Self gifts will be driving quite a bit of business as many consumers held off on purchases the past two holiday seasons. 75 percent of all respondents plan to give themselves a little something this year.
Millennials’ share of Black Friday/Cyber Monday spending is a whopping 43 percent which leaves Gen X (23%), Boomers (20%) and Gen Z (13%). Shockingly, millennials are also more likely than other generations to — gasp — leave the house and partake in Black Friday doorbusters. Half of millennials surveyed are likely to go to stores between midnight and 7 a.m. (versus 31% of other shoppers). All that griping about our salaries must have paid off because this year, millennial shoppers intend to increase their average BFCM spending by 38% year-over-year and prioritize self-gifting: 68% plan to buy gifts for themselves during this period. Get that iPad, you deserve it.
Lastly, nearly two-thirds (63%) of shoppers say they could be tempted to make a BFCM purchase while at work, the other 37 percent are liars and probably shopping Amazon at their desk right now.
Deloitte: Black Friday-Cyber Monday Embraced as Consumers Seek Deals to Stretch their Budgets [PR Newswire]