Black Friday dominated 2024 holiday spending, Moneris data shows; will it lead again in 2025?

As retailers gear up for the 2025 holiday season, transaction data from Moneris, Canada’s leading commerce provider, shows that in 2024, Black Friday claimed the top spot as the busiest shopping day of the period, overtaking the final pre-holiday rush. 

Several factors may have been behind this shift:

• The Canada Post strike, which began November 15, 2024, likely pushed shoppers to buy earlier and in person to avoid delivery delays.
• Renewed enthusiasm for Black Friday deals, paired with ongoing cost-of-living concerns, made early discounts especially appealing.

With similar factors expected to be at play this year, Black Friday could once again lead the pack.

Other spend insights from 2024

Holiday spending continued to centre around a few key days, with Black Friday out in front, followed closely by the final stretch before Holiday. Overall, other important days in the holiday retail calendar included:

• December 23, which reached 93% of Black Friday’s total spend.
• December 20, just 2% behind December 23.
• Cyber Monday jumped to the tenth busiest day, up from 17th in 2023, likely boosted by early online shopping amid delivery concerns.

Sean McCormick, Vice President of Business Development, Data Services at Moneris, said Black Friday reclaimed its spot as the busiest shopping day last year, signalling Canadians’ strong preference for early deals and strategic purchases. 

“With similar economic motivators at play this season, retailers should expect Black Friday to remain a key driver of holiday sales. Whether Black Friday repeats as the busiest shopping day this year remains to be seen, but Moneris will continue to monitor and report on trends this holiday season,” he said.

“While Black Friday leads the way, there are plenty of other key moments for retailers to watch. The battle between those who shop early and those who leave it to the last minute is timeless. As businesses prepare for this year’s holiday season they should also watch out for the final days just before Holiday, which aren’t far behind Black Friday when we compare spending volume.” 

“Regional spending patterns continue to show there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the holiday season. Spending growth in provinces like Quebec and Alberta highlights the benefits of early promotions and consumer confidence, while other markets are showing signs of cautious optimism heading into this year’s peak shopping period.” 

Yale Holder, Vice President, Customer Experience at Moneris, said Moneris data shows a 26% year-over-year drop in reported fraud cases between January and August, a promising sign that prevention efforts are making an impact. 

“But with the holiday season approaching, it’s critical for businesses to understand the latest fraud trends. By recognizing warning signs and securing their payment systems, businesses can better protect themselves during this high-traffic time of year,” said Holder.

“When businesses enter payment details manually, they put themselves at risk as these methods lack the security safeguards needed to help prevent chargebacks. Mail order and telephone order transactions contributed to 70 per cent of reported fraud cases among small businesses in 2025. Instead of taking card details over the phone or by mail and manually entering them, we encourage businesses in these scenarios to accept payment via secure gateways with 3D Secure 2.0 enabled.” 

“While overall fraud cases are down, our data shows that fraudsters are shifting strategies. For instance, we’ve seen a dramatic drop in Refund Fraud on Stolen Devices—from 11 per cent of cases in 2024 to less than one per cent in 2025. That’s encouraging, but it’s not the end of the story. A slight uptick in other refund-related scams reminds us that fraudsters are simply changing tactics—not disappearing. Businesses need to remain vigilant and proactive year-round.” 

Ranking of holiday season dates by volume for retail businesses

About the data:  Ranking of dates during the holiday season (November 1 to December 31) in 2024 based on volume for retail businesses. “Compared to the busiest day” takes a given day’s volume and divides by Black Friday’s volume. Moneris reports measure spending in Canada across a range of categories by analyzing transaction data. The figures cited are derived from aggregated transaction data being processed by Moneris in the applicable categories.

More from Retail Insider:

• Canadian inflation eases in October: Statistics Canada
• Q3 2025 Canadian consumer insolvencies climb 4.8% year-over-year, reaching highest level since 2009