Pwc: on Black Friday 9 out of 10 Italians will shop, but spending will fall

Exactly one month before Black Friday, 27 November, the first, somewhat mixed assessments of consumers’ shopping intentions are emerging.

Pwc has presented the results of the Black Friday Survey 2026, conducted among 8.000 people, equally divided among four countries: Germany, Ireland, Italy and Turkey.

Black Friday will involve 94% of Italians

The date is confirmed as a key event. According to the research, the 94% of Italian respondents, totalling 2.000, are inclined to shop between 27 and 30 November 2026, a higher percentage than the average for the countries examined (89%).

Among Italians interested in buying, more than half (55%) have already decided to make a purchase, while 39% are waiting for the right offer.

How and why average spending is falling

[[ARTW_HTMLOPEN_AAAV]The interest will not, however, translate into higher spending. Six out of ten of our compatriots (61,4%) expect to spend as much as last year, 21% estimate a higher amount, while 18% are inclined to spend less.

Those who have set themselves a smaller budget made this choice mainly out of caution (50%) and because of lower financial availability (48%), a concept already expressed by a very recent analysis by Shopify.

Those who are instead maintaining last year’s intentions mainly want to take advantage of discounts (45,6%), or repeat an experience they considered positive (40,5%).

The average spending estimated by our compatriots is around 260 euros per person, around 20% less than the average 330 euros across the four countries, but one Italian in three (33%) has budgeted “only” for an outlay of between 101 and 250 euros. Just 10% will exceed 500 euros, compared with 17% of Irish, Germans and Turks.

Our compatriots therefore remain cautious and selective: 94% usually checks the actual extent of advertised discounts, 43% compares offers from different retailers, 31% checks price history and 30% uses comparison websites or apps. 17% relies on AI tools for the same purpose.

Italians want a 40% discount

The bar for a discount considered attractive is also rising: 6 out of 10 Italians consider a reduction on clothing worthwhile only from - 40%.

The categories preferred by Italians for shopping during Black Friday are fashion and clothing in general, adult footwear (37%), followed by electronics and technology (35%), health and beauty (20%), homeware (17%) and household appliances (17%). Only 6% are aiming to buy jewellery and watches.

The focus on planning confirms the most widespread trends among our compatriots: in 2025, 71% of them bought what they had planned to buy, and only 13% gave in to impulse.

Still looking at the period 27-30 November 2026, 76% of Italians will buy for themselves and 62% also for their families, with an eye to the festive season: 78% will buy some or all of their gifts for 25 December on this occasion.

E-commerce is expected to win, but shops hold their ground

The digital channel remains the preferred shopping method during the next Black Friday: 51% of our consumers expect to buy through e-commerce, with 13% opting for online shopping but collecting in store.

Shopping at the point of sale ranks, again in our country, at 36%, a share slightly higher than the average for the geographies analysed (32%).

Finally, Italians are also more cautious about payments: 34% in total will buy using instalment payment systems (22%), or with Buy Now Pay Later schemes (12%), compared with an overall benchmark of 44 per cent.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.