White House economist touts 'good news' for Black Friday despite alarming figures

Consumers reportedly placed fewer orders on Black Friday, yet another indication that consumer confidence is down. Despite the decrease, sales hit record highs, thanks in part to inflation and increased use of credit, including “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) programs. But the White House sees “good news” in the numbers.

“Although U.S. consumers spent more this Black Friday compared to last year,” Reuters reported, “price increases hampered online demand, according to Salesforce, with shoppers purchasing fewer items at checkout compared to last year.”

Newsweek, citing data from Salesforce published by Forbes, reported that “order volume fell by about 1 percent year over year, while average selling prices were up 7 percent—indicating that much of the growth was caused by inflation rather than any uptick in shopping enthusiasm.”

Overall, the “underlying details about spending patterns suggest this may not have been the economic boon the administration believes.”

According to Politico, “White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday that record Black Friday sales underscore the administration’s optimism on economic growth despite concerns around tariffs and inflation.”

Hassett cited Black Friday’s sales numbers “as a sign of economic resilience,” Politico added.

“The good news around Thanksgiving is the sign of something that’s stronger to come,” Hassett said on Sunday. “I think the reason is that incomes are up this year is, we had a great jobs report, and with strong income and the government shutdown over so that people have pent-up demand as well, I think that we’re looking at a great recovery from a weak few weeks because of the shutdown.”

The jobless rate increased to 4.4%, the highest it’s been in almost four years.

Meanwhile, BNPL programs, including those from Klarna and Affirm, were forecast to account for over $760 million in Black Friday spending, Newsweek noted, citing data from Adobe. Overall, for November and December, use of those programs is expected to increase by 11 percent from last year.

CNN over the weekend called BNPL programs “an important payment option for consumers this holiday season.”