Black Friday is most popular with Gen Z

A new report provided exclusively to CNBC finds that Black Friday is more popular with younger consumers than older ones.

AT&T businessMorning Consult’s 2025 Holiday Shopping Survey found that 40% of Gen Z and 32% of Millennials plan to do most of their shopping on Black Friday. Older generations, on the other hand, prefer to shop later in the season, just one to two weeks before Christmas, the study found.

“Black Friday is always a big event, and the pricing, offers and advertising during that time will likely appeal to Gen Z, especially on social media,” said Angela Rutherford, AT&T’s vice president of midmarket sales.

The Black Friday craze continues even as Gen Z plans to cut back on spending.

Consulting firm PwC reported in September that Gen Z shoppers plan to spend an average of 23% less this holiday season than a year ago. This is the steepest decline of any generation and a big change from last year, when Gen Z was expected to increase by 37%.

And as non-wealthy Americans face the pressures of rising prices and economic uncertainty, some reports show signs that a “K-shaped” economy, where wealthy consumers spend more and lower-income consumers shop more conservatively, could extend into the holiday season.

A new study from Deloitte found that the average consumer plans to spend 4% less on Black Friday than last year, largely due to financial constraints and concerns about rising costs of living.

Still, Rutherford said consumers are becoming more “intentional and value-focused” this holiday season.

That spending is leading to more support for small businesses rather than traditional big box retailers, with 77% of consumers saying they would do all their holiday shopping at small businesses if they could and the prices were the same, according to AT&T research.

Compared to last year, the number of survey respondents who said they shop at small businesses to boost their local economy increased by 8 percentage points.

“I think there’s a price consciousness out there and a mindset of, ‘If I can still save money or get it at a reasonable price, I’m going to shop local,'” Rutherford said.

AT&T’s research also found that 72% of people reported getting gift ideas directly from shopping rather than from social media.

And even as artificial intelligence begins to reshape the way people shop, more than half of shoppers say they’re more likely to use traditional online search methods than AI for gifts this holiday season. Just 9% of those surveyed said they were likely to use AI to find gifts.

“AI has exploded in popularity over the past few years, permeating every aspect of life,” Rutherford said. “Over time, I think we will see a shift in shopping from traditional search to AI.”