How much does the average person spend on holiday shopping?

The National Retail Federation put planned holiday spending per person at $890.49 in 2025, about $628 of it on gifts. Deloitte's 2025 holiday survey put the average planned holiday budget higher, at $1,595 per shopper, down 10 percent from 2024.

Is Cyber Monday bigger than Black Friday?

Online, yes. Americans spent $14.25 billion online on Cyber Monday 2025, which is 1.21 times the $11.8 billion spent online on Black Friday. Black Friday still carries the biggest discounts in several categories, including TVs at 23 percent off and toys at 29 percent, per Adobe.

How much of holiday spending is on gifts?

About $628 of the National Retail Federation's $890.49 planned per-person holiday spending in 2025, which is 70.5 percent of the total. The rest is food, decorations, and the other things the season requires.

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The deal ledger · Table No. 50

How Much Do People Spend on Black Friday?

Americans spent $11.8 billion online on Black Friday 2025, and $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday. This article states the season total, the per-person plan, where the money goes, and the trap.

Filed November 7, 2026 · figures checked against 2026 sources

The short answer

Americans spent $11.8 billion online on Black Friday 2025, and $14.25 billion online on Cyber Monday, which is 1.21 times as much, and $2.45 billion more, because Cyber Monday has overtaken Black Friday as the biggest online shopping day, and the weekend between them is the season’s peak. Adobe expects $275.1 billion of online holiday spending between November 1 and December 31, 2026, which is 6.7 percent more than last season, and last season was therefore $257.83 billion, because $275.1 billion divided by 1.067 is $257.83 billion, and the growth is the season, not the day, because the discounts now stretch across two months, and the spending follows the discounts, and the discounts climb through the season, from up to 14 percent off at the start of November to up to 30 percent during Cyber Week, and the spending peaks when the discounts peak, and the discounts peak on Cyber Monday, and Cyber Monday is the day the money moves. The National Retail Federation put planned holiday spending per person at $890.49 in 2025, of which about $628 was on gifts, which is 70.5 percent of the total, and the rest was food, decorations, and the other things the season requires, and Deloitte’s 2025 holiday survey put the average planned holiday budget higher, at $1,595 per shopper, down 10 percent from 2024, because households cut back, and the two surveys differ because they ask differently, and the difference is the method, not the money, because the NRF counts the plan and Deloitte counts the budget, and the budget is larger than the plan, and both are averages, and the average is not a target.

The $11.8 billion and the $14.25 billion are online only, and the online is now the larger share of the weekend, because the stores still open at dawn and the lines still form, and the online is where the growth is, because the online is where the price history lives, and the price history is where the deal is checked, and the checking is the reason the online wins, because the shopper who can compare the sale price with the lowest price in ninety days in two minutes is the shopper who knows whether the deal is real, and the shopper in the store cannot, because the store has no history on the shelf, and the shelf has only the tag, and the tag has only the was price, and the was price is the claim, not the evidence. More than $1 billion of the Cyber Monday 2025 total was buy now, pay later, which is the credit card by another name, and the buy now, pay later is the debt by another name, because the payment is deferred and the interest is not, and the deferred payment is the January bill, and the January bill is the season’s real cost, and the real cost is the spending minus the saving, and the saving is the discount, and the discount is the deal, and the deal is the arithmetic.

Figure	Amount	Source
Online spending, Black Friday 2025	$11.8 billion	Adobe, via 2026 reporting
Online spending, Cyber Monday 2025	$14.25 billion	Adobe, via 2026 reporting
Expected online holiday spending, Nov 1 to Dec 31, 2026	$275.1 billion	Adobe holiday forecast, Sep 28, 2026
Growth on last season	+6.7%	Adobe holiday forecast, Sep 28, 2026
Planned holiday spending per person, 2025	$890.49	National Retail Federation
Of which, on gifts	About $628	National Retail Federation
Average planned holiday budget, 2025	$1,595	Deloitte holiday survey
Change on 2024	−10%	Deloitte holiday survey

The table is the season in eight rows, and the rows disagree with each other in the way surveys always disagree, because the NRF asks what people plan to spend and Deloitte asks what people budget, and the plan is $890.49 and the budget is $1,595, and the $704.51 between them is the difference between a plan and a budget, because the plan counts the gifts and the food and the decorations, and the budget counts the whole season, and the whole season is larger, and the larger is the truth, because the season costs more than the gifts, and the gifts are 70.5 percent of the plan, and the plan is the smaller number, and the smaller number is the one people quote, and the quoted number is the one that sounds affordable, and the affordable number is the trap, because the season costs $1,595 and the plan says $890.49, and the $704.51 is the overspend, and the overspend is the January bill.

Where the money goes

The money goes to gifts first, because gifts are 70.5 percent of the NRF’s $890.49, which is about $628, and the gifts are the reason the season exists, and the gifts are the list, and the list is the budget, and the budget is the plan, and the plan is the number to set before the discounts start, because the discounts start in early November and the list should exist before them, and the list priced at realistic sale prices is the budget, and the budget is the cash to set aside, and the cash set aside is the money that is spent, and the money spent is the season. The food and the decorations are the rest, about $262.49 of the NRF’s $890.49, and the food is the Thanksgiving table and the Christmas dinner, and the decorations are the tree and the lights, and the lights are the electricity, and the electricity is the bill, and the bill is the season’s hidden cost, because the lights run all December, and the running is the meter, and the meter is the money. The categories Adobe expects to discount deepest on Black Friday itself are the categories the money goes to: toys at 29 percent off, TVs and apparel at 23 percent, appliances and furniture at 18 percent, and the toy discount is the deepest because the toy is the gift, and the gift is the season, and the season is the child, and the child is the reason the toy is 29 percent off, because the toy is what the parent buys, and the parent buys it on Black Friday, and Black Friday is the day the toy is cheapest, and the cheapest is the reason to wait, and the waiting is the plan.

The money also goes to the things people were going to buy anyway, and those are the real savings, because the planned purchase bought at 23 percent off is $206.77 saved on an $899 TV, and the unplanned purchase bought at 23 percent off is $692.23 spent, not $206.77 saved, and the difference is the list, because the list is the plan, and the plan is the saving, and the unplanned is the spending, and the spending is the trap, because the banner says 23 percent off and the mind hears saving, and the saving is only real when the purchase was planned, and the planned is the list, and the list is the budget, and the budget is the cash, and the cash is the limit, and the limit is the season. Adobe expects the discounts to climb through the season, and the climbing is the reason to wait for the category you want, because the TV is 23 percent off on Black Friday and the discount is smaller in early November, and the early November discount is up to 14 percent, and the 14 percent is the price of impatience, and the impatience costs $80.91 on an $899 TV, because 23 percent off is $692.23 and 14 percent off is $773.14, and the $80.91 is the waiting, and the waiting is the plan.

The trap: spending is not saving

The trap is the oldest in retail, and it is the banner’s arithmetic: the banner says 50 percent off and the mind hears half price, and the price is not half, because the 50 percent is measured from a was price the item may rarely have sold at, and the real saving is measured from the lowest price in recent weeks, and the lowest price is the evidence, and the evidence is the history, and the history is the check, and the check takes two minutes, and the two minutes save the $88 on the $200 coat that is really 20 percent off, not 44, and the $88 is the claimed saving, and the $28 is the real one, and the $60 between them is the trap, and the trap is the was price, and the was price is the claim. The second trap is the card: more than $1 billion of Cyber Monday 2025 was buy now, pay later, and the buy now, pay later is the balance, and the balance at 22 percent APR costs $257.14 of interest on $1,000 paid at $50 a month over 26 months, and the interest is more than the saving on the item, because the item saved $88 and the card charged $257.14, and the deal lost $169.14, and the losing is the card, and the card is the trap, because the discount is the banner and the interest is the bill, and the bill arrives in January, and January is when the season is paid for, and the paying is the truth.

The third trap is the average itself, because the average is $890.49 and the average is not a target, and the target is your cash, and your cash is your income minus your obligations, and the obligations are the rent and the food and the bills, and the bills are the season’s competition, because the season competes with the rent, and the rent wins, because the rent is the roof, and the roof is the need, and the gift is the want, and the want waits, because the need does not, and the budget that spends $1,595 because Deloitte says so is the budget that spends the average, and the average is the country, and the country is not you, and you are the budget, and the budget is the cash, and the cash is the list priced at realistic sale prices, and the list is the plan, and the plan is the season. The spending figures in this article are surveys and national totals, not targets: the right budget is the one your own cash flow supports, and the cash flow is the paychecks, and the paychecks are the weeks, and the weeks to Black Friday are three, and the three weeks are the saving, and the saving is $296.67 a week on an $890 plan, and $44.50 a day, and the day is the unit, because the day is the saving, and the saving is the cash, and the cash is the season.

The new insight

The $275.1 billion is not a shopping list, it is a weather report. Adobe’s forecast tells you when the discounts peak, not what to buy, and the peak is Cyber Week at up to 30 percent off, and the peak for toys is Black Friday at 29 percent, and the peak for TVs is Black Friday at 23 percent, and the peak is the calendar, and the calendar is the discount, and the discount is the date, and the date is the plan, and the plan is the list, and the list is the budget, and the budget is the cash, and the cash is the season. The shopper who reads the forecast as a list spends $1,595 because the average did, and the shopper who reads it as a calendar spends the list at the peak, and the peak is the saving, and the saving is the date, and the date is November 27 for the TV and November 30 for the laptop, and the laptop is Cyber Monday, and the TV is Black Friday, and the two days are the season, and the season is the calendar, and the calendar is the money.

Sources

Adobe holiday forecast, published September 28, 2026: $275.1 billion of online spending between November 1 and December 31, 2026, up 6.7 percent on last season; discount ramp of up to 14 percent in early November, up to 21 percent before Thanksgiving, up to 30 percent during Cyber Week, and 10 to 15 percent through December; Black Friday category peaks of TVs 23 percent, toys 29 percent, apparel 23 percent, appliances 18 percent, furniture 18 percent. 2025 online totals of $11.8 billion on Black Friday and $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday, with more than $1 billion of the Cyber Monday total on buy now, pay later, as reported in 2026 Black Friday budget coverage. National Retail Federation 2025 holiday spending survey: $890.49 planned per person, about $628 on gifts. Deloitte 2025 holiday survey: $1,595 average planned budget, down 10 percent from 2024. All derived figures in this article were computed by this site’s calculator: last season $257.83 billion from $275.1 billion at 6.7 percent growth; gifts 70.5 percent of $890.49; Cyber Monday 1.21 times Black Friday; $890 over three weeks is $296.67 a week and $44.50 a day; $1,000 at 22 percent APR paid at $50 a month is 26 months and $257.14 of interest.