Updated October 2026: This post has been expanded from its original November 2017 version which listed a handful of short-lived coupon offers that expired years ago, with a sourced look at how Black Friday 2017 actually played out and practical tips for finding genuine deals. It is a historical account; details describe the time it covers, not today.
This post originally collected a few coupon offers ahead of Black Friday 2017. Every one of those deals expired by the end of that year, so they have been removed. What remains interesting is the shopping weekend itself. Black Friday 2017 was the year online spending broke records on nearly every day of the holiday weekend, Cyber Monday became the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history to that point, and phones finally took a major share of the buying.
Below is a look back at the numbers, drawn from Adobe Analytics, the National Retail Federation and foot-traffic data, followed by advice for spotting real bargains that still applies on any Black Friday.
Record online sales from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday
Adobe Analytics, which tracked about 80 percent of online transactions at the 100 largest U.S. web retailers, reported that consumers spent $19.62 billion online over the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday 2017. That was up roughly 15 percent from the same period in 2016.
- Thanksgiving Day: $2.87 billion online, up about 18 percent from 2016.
- Black Friday: a record $5.03 billion, up about 17 percent.
- Small Business Saturday and Sunday: $5.12 billion combined, up about 10 percent.
- Cyber Monday: a record $6.59 billion, up 16.8 percent from about $5.6 billion the year before.
At the time, Cyber Monday 2017 was described as the largest online shopping day in U.S. history. Adobe said the season from November 1 through November 27 had already brought in about $50 billion online, and it predicted the full holiday season would be the first to pass $100 billion. That forecast held up: Adobe later reported $108.2 billion in online holiday spending for November and December 2017, up 14.7 percent.
Phones take a bigger share
2017 was a turning point for mobile shopping. On Black Friday, smartphones and tablets accounted for 54.3 percent of visits to retail sites and 36.9 percent of sales, according to Adobe. On Cyber Monday, mobile devices drove 47.4 percent of visits and 33.1 percent of revenue, and mobile sales passed $2 billion in a single day for the first time.
The gap between visits and sales is worth noticing. People browsed heavily on their phones but were still more likely to finish big purchases on a computer. That gap was narrowing, though. Adobe reported that mobile conversion rates on Cyber Monday were about 12 percent higher than a year earlier, and smartphone revenue grew 39.2 percent to $1.59 billion. The average smartphone order was $123 on iPhones and $110 on Android devices.
| Day (2017) | Mobile share of visits | Mobile share of sales |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving Day | 46% | 29% |
| Black Friday | 54.3% | 36.9% |
| Cyber Monday | 47.4% | 33.1% |
Source: Adobe Analytics via Practical Ecommerce and the Adobe blog. Mobile includes smartphones and tablets.
Stores still drew crowds, but fewer of them
While online sales grew strongly, physical stores told a quieter story. ShopperTrak, which measures foot traffic, reported that store visits on Thanksgiving and Black Friday combined fell 1.6 percent from 2016. That fit a long trend of retailers spreading deals across November and online rather than concentrating them in one crowded morning.
Stores were far from empty, however. The National Retail Federation's survey found that more than 174 million Americans shopped in stores or online over the five-day weekend. About 77 million shopped in stores on Black Friday, compared with about 66 million who shopped online that day. Cyber Monday reversed the picture, with more than 81 million online shoppers. The largest group, more than 64 million people, used both stores and websites, and they spent more on average than people who used only one channel. The average shopper spent $335.47 over the weekend, according to the NRF.
Search and email mattered as much as ads. On Cyber Monday, Adobe found that search drove about 42 percent of online sales, with email and direct visits each accounting for roughly a quarter. Popular items that Black Friday included the Nintendo Switch and toys such as Hatchimals and L.O.L. Surprise dolls, according to Adobe's data reported by CNBC.
What happened next
The 2017 pattern of strong online growth and softening store traffic continued. Retailers stretched sales across the whole month, often starting deals in early November or even October, and many began offering their "Black Friday" prices online days before the holiday. Mobile kept gaining, and in later years smartphones became the main way many people shopped during the weekend. The idea of a single day of doorbuster bargains gave way to a season of rolling promotions.
How to find real deals on any Black Friday
Coupon lists like the one this post originally carried go stale within weeks. These habits do not:
- Know the normal price first. Before the sales start, write down the everyday prices of the things you actually want. A "50 percent off" label is meaningless if the original price was inflated.
- Use a price history tool. Price trackers and browser extensions show how an item's price has moved over months. If the Black Friday price is the same as last month's, it is not a special deal.
- Compare exact model numbers. Some electronics sold during the holidays are special versions with slightly different specs. Check that the model you are buying matches the one in the reviews you read.
- Get coupon codes from the source. Use codes from a retailer's own website, app or email list. Codes on unfamiliar sites are often expired, fake, or a way to collect clicks.
- Watch the whole week, not one day. As 2017 showed, prices online can drop on Thanksgiving, Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Many retailers now run deals across all of November.
- Read the return policy. Holiday purchases often have extended return windows, but some sale items are final. Confirm before you buy.
- Pay with protection. Credit cards and mobile wallets generally offer stronger fraud protection than debit cards. Avoid sites that only accept wire transfers or gift cards.
- Set a budget. The best deal is one on something you planned to buy anyway. Make a list and stick to it.
Sources
- CNBC: A record $6.59 billion spent online on Cyber Monday (November 28, 2017)
- Practical Ecommerce: Sales report, 2017 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday
- Adobe blog: Mobile conversions hit new high Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday
- Talk Business & Politics: NRF says 174 million Americans shopped Thanksgiving weekend
- MarTech: Holiday 2017 e-commerce wrap-up ($108.2 billion)
Top image: "Shopping bags grey color" by Troy Kelly, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized). Charts by Thank You Robot.
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