The 2025 ICSC Post-Thanksgiving Weekend Survey indicated 206 million people — 77% of adults in the United States — shopped during the five-day period between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, with 88% of Millennials and 84% of GenZers reporting they were enthusiastic about the official holiday shopping kickoff.
In the period, 84% of shoppers spent time in stores, an increase of six percentage points from 2024, the former International Council of Shopping Centers reported. As to destination, 152 million consumers visited a shopping center during the long weekend, with nine in 10 GenZers visiting malls.
In the Thanksgiving promotional period, Black Friday was again the most popular day to shop. Respondents to the survey estimated 38% of their total Thanksgiving weekend spending happened on Friday. However, in the ICSC research, spending on Small Business Saturday, November 29, and the following Sunday, November 30, was higher than on Cyber Monday, as consumers viewed the entire weekend as an opportunity to find deals.
Half of those who made purchases during the five-day period tapped AI tools in shopping to compare prices, collect gift ideas and recommendations or find the best bargains among other uses. GenZers (66%), and Millennials (61%) were top AI users, although half of Gen X consumers also leveraged the tech tools.
Despite robust spending over Thanksgiving weekend, 65% of survey respondents said they still had significant holiday shopping left to do in the final stretch of the season, ICSC noted, giving retailers an opportunity to capture additional consumer spending in the weeks ahead.
Still, consumers seemed to remain price sensitive, with 69% saying they took advantage of Thanksgiving weekend’s deals to buy items for which they previously delayed purchasing because the prices were too high. In terms of getting the right offers, 59% of consumers said they felt this year’s promotions were as good as those in years past.
