Black Friday is by far the biggest shopping holiday in America, as retailers tout serious savings on nearly all of their products—a big perk for designer shoe lovers.
Shopping for shoes this Black Friday? Make sure you’re getting the best deals of 2024 by using our expert guide to uncover the year’s top shoe sales. From luxury designer footwear to casual sneakers and boots, we’ve analyzed the 2024 Black Friday trends to help you save big and avoid misleading discounts.
While shoe retailers would like you to think otherwise, Black Friday is not the cheapest day of the year to buy shoes (Credit: Iuliia Pilipeichenko / Shutterstock)
As of 2023, online shopping during Black Friday and Cyber Monday has grown significantly. On Black Friday 2023, approximately 90.6 million Americans made online purchases, a 3.9% increase from the previous year. Cyber Monday 2023 saw even higher participation, with 73.1 million online shoppers.
Regarding spending, Black Friday 2023 online sales reached $9.8 billion, while Cyber Monday 2023 set a record with $12.4 billion in online sales, a 9.6% increase from 2022. Despite the rise in online shopping, in-store shopping remains significant. On Black Friday 2023, 76.2 million consumers shopped in physical stores, up 4.5% from 72.9 million in 2022.
Unfortunately, the deals in question may not be all they’re cracked up to be. For shoe enthusiasts like us, we’re always eyeing the price decreases (and increases) before purchasing our next pair, which has led us to a disheartening realization: shoes don’t get cheaper on Black Friday.
Why Black Friday Shoe Deals Might Be a Waste of Your Money
Retailers mark up shoes on Black Friday to trick you into thinking you are getting a better deal. With all of the advertisements of huge savings, it is easy for us to believe that goods will be cheaper on Black Friday—this used to be the case.
However, in recent years, shoe retailers have used a sneaky (and somewhat unethical, if you ask us) process to fool consumers into buying more without saving much money.
Shoe retailers normally increase prices on shoes in the days and weeks leading up to Black Friday (Credit: LightField Studios / Shutterstock)
A study by sneaker expert and shoe enthusiast Danny McLoughlin of RunRepeat found that in the months before Black Friday, retailers will slowly increase the prices of their shoes.
This increase is slight, but just before Black Friday, the prices of the shoes are the highest they’ve been all year. On Black Friday itself, the prices are “slashed,” and retailers will advertise a pair of shoes at 60% off, but even with this discount, the price consumers pay for these shoes is still higher than it would have been if they purchased them earlier in the year.
The study continued to find unsettling truths, noting that:
- Sneakers (and other shoes) are cheaper 66% of the days throughout the year than they are on Black Friday. To put this in perspective, if you randomly pick 10 days throughout the year, your chosen pair of shoes will be cheaper on at least 6 of them.
- Shoes are up to 57% more expensive on Black Friday.
- There is no significant price drop on shoes on Black Friday. Instead, they remain stable.
Post-Christmas Shoe Sales: The Secret to Huge Savings
Black Friday has become such a popular shopping holiday because it allows consumers to purchase all of their Christmas gifts at once. As we’ve noted, retailers will mark up the prices on Black Friday, duping consumers out of their hard-earned money.
Waiting to buy shoes until after Christmas can save you a substantial amount of money (Credit: Nedeljko Plavsic / Shutterstock)
After Christmas, shoe prices are often severely discounted, as retailers don’t need to market “sales” on holiday gifts. Once the holidays are over, you can snag designer shoes for a fraction of the price.
How to Spot the Rare Black Friday Shoe Deals Worth Buying
Though most shoe retailers practice unethical price gouging on Black Friday, there are some good deals, albeit few and far between.
The same study from RunRepeat’s Danny McLoughlin found that while 99% of shoes are marked up at an average of $30 for Black Friday, only 1% of shoe retailers still truly offer their wares for the lowest prices that day.
Shoppers flock to stores on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day in the United States, drawn by promises of steep discounts and holiday deals (Credit: INFphoto)
We recommend skipping the in-person shoe sales this Black Friday, but if you research beforehand, it is possible to find your new favorite pair for a steep discount!