Black Friday 2025: Shopper Trends Shift as Inflation, Tariffs, and Early Deals Reshape Holiday Spending

Black Friday no longer sparks midnight mall crowds and in-store chaos, but it remains the busiest in-store shopping day of the year and marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. This year’s kickoff comes amid weakened consumer confidence tied to inflation, slow hiring, and economic uncertainty following a government shutdown. Shoppers are increasingly price-sensitive but still willing to spend on key occasions.

Retailers have faced pressure from Trump-era tariffs, prompting many to accelerate shipments or absorb extra import costs. Prices rose sharply in categories like toys, baby products, and housewares, with 83% of toys seeing at least a 5% price increase in September. Despite these challenges, foot traffic at major malls — including the Mall of America — has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, signaling strong momentum.

Online spending is also surging, with consumers spending $79.7 billion from Nov. 1–23, a 7.5% increase over last year. Forecasts predict moderate overall holiday sales growth, and analysts say shoppers—though uneasy—are still showing up. According to Adobe Analytics, Black Friday offers the deepest discounts on TVs, toys, and appliances, while Cyber Monday will be the best time to buy apparel and computers.
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US Supreme Court blocks order requiring Trump to fund food assistance.

The US Supreme Court announced Friday that the Trump administration will not be compelled to immediately restore SNAP food benefits that were halted during the government shutdown.

The temporary ruling leaves millions of Americans uncertain about future assistance.

Earlier in the week, a lower court had determined that President Donald Trump’s administration must fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November by Friday’s end.

That ruling required the administration to draw on contingency reserves to send billions of dollars to states, ensuring roughly 42 million Americans dependent on SNAP could continue receiving food aid.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued what is known as an administrative stay, a temporary pause that allows the courts more time to review the administration’s appeal.

On Friday morning, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that only Congress holds the authority to decide how to allocate federal funds.

“The core power of Congress is that of the purse, while the Executive is tasked with allocating limited resources across competing priorities,” the DOJ wrote.

According to the DOJ, the lower court “took the current shutdown as effective license to declare a federal bankruptcy and appoint itself the trustee, charged with picking winners and losers among those seeking some part of the limited pool of remaining federal funds

23-year-old American Climber, Balin Miller, Dies while climbing a 3000-foot granite wall in Yosemite National Park.

American climber Balin Miller has d+ed at the age of 23 while attempting a climb in Yosemite National Park, his family confirmed on Thursday.

Miller was on El Capitan, the park’s iconic 3,000-foot granite wall immortalized by Alex Honnold’s Free Solo, when the fatal accident occurred during his ascent of the “Sea of Dreams” route. His mother, Jeanine Moorman, announced the news in a post on the website of VIRR, the family’s outdoor goods company.

“This is unthinkable,” she wrote. “At this time, we do not yet know all the details. What we do know is that the world has lost an extraordinary soul, and our hearts are shattered.”

Moorman remembered her son as a free spirit with “a touch of Robin Williams’ wild energy,” describing him as curious, strategic, and endlessly playful.

Born into a family that embraced the outdoors, Miller was introduced to climbing by his father in the mountains of Alaska and grew into a fearless adventurer who scaled cliffs and ranges around the world.

Living a nomadic lifestyle, often out of his silver Prius, he pieced together a shoestring income to fund his passion. “Balin was full of life, a true wild card at heart,” his mother wrote.

A beloved figure in the climbing community, Miller became popular for his TikTok livestreams and was affectionately nicknamed the “orange tent guy” for his bright gear. His distinctive glitter makeup also drew attention; he once compared it to “a warrior putting makeup on before going into battle,” in an interview with Climbing magazine earlier this year.

In June, he achieved what is believed to be the first solo climb of the Slovak Direct route on Denali (Mount McKinley), North America’s tallest peak. He had only recently returned from an ice and alpine expedition in Alaska and had long dreamed of conquering a Yosemite lead.

His death coincided with the first day of the U.S. federal government shutdown, a development that left many national parks at risk of closure or reduced services.