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The 10 Most Popular Black Friday Items From 2020
These were the 10 most popular / most searched for items during Black Friday 2020
Black Friday comes but once a year, and it is always a big deal. Amazon is usually the focus for most people, but nearly all major retailers in the US and UK run massive sales too.
Ahead of Black Friday 2021, which kicks off on November 26, we decided to do some research and find out what the most popular items were during Black Friday 2020.
The reason?
Because once Black Friday 2021 is over, it will be cool to see if any of the most popular products have changed. We could have new entries, brands that have lost traction, etc.
The Most Popular Black Friday Items 2020
| PRODUCT NAME | NUMBER OF SEARCHES (IN THOUSANDS) |
|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | 2979.2 |
| PS4 | 1351.1 |
| Apple AirPods | 1321.7 |
| Apple Watch | 1081.5 |
| Pandora | 779.12 |
| Dyson | 767.09 |
| AirPods Pro | 498.04 |
| iPhone 11 | 491.9 |
| Vans | 490.85 |
| iPad | 428.5 |
Nintendo Switch Dominated Black Friday 2020
As you can see, according to the data, the Nintendo Switch was by far the most popular item during Black Friday 2020, with more than double the searches of the next best – the PS4.
Black Friday 2021 will almost certainly be different, however – we expect to see huge volumes of searches for Sony’s PS5, the company’s hard-to-find next-generation gaming console.
In fact, I’d be inclined to speculate that we’ll see a massive increase in overall search traffic around the PS5, likely double or triple that of what we saw with the Nintendo Switch in 2020.
Best of The Rest…
The best of the rest is made up of just a handful of brands: Apple, Vans, Pandora, and Dyson.
Apple’s AirPods, the non-Pro version, were the third most searched for item, followed by Apple Watch, and then Pandora, a jewellery company.
The iPad was 10th on the list, sitting behind Vans, the iPhone 11, and the AirPods Pro, proving that most buyers during Black Friday are looking for accessories rather than actual phones.
Did COVID Affect Black Friday 2020?
As with most things, you cannot look back on 2020 data without factoring in the global pandemic.
According to data from SEMrush, the search keyword “buy online” increased 50% during 2020 as shops and retailers closed their doors for the best part of 12 months.
Similarly, the average growth across ecommerce stores was up by 30% year-on-year. This growth, in part, was driven by many retailers starting Black Friday 2020 a lot earlier than usual – some began sales in October.
Consumer interest in Black Friday is consistently increasing every year. When we compare YoY global searches (2019 vs. 2020), there is a 14% growth of interest for the discount period.
In countries where Black Friday has traditionally played a significant role within the retail space, the growth numbers are even higher, with Brazil, Australia, and the US leading the way.
SEMRush
Traffic to the world’s biggest online retailers – Amazon, Best Buy, Target – was up 30% globally in 2020 too, accounting for billions of additional visitors for the period. This trend should continue into 2021, although growth might be lower as the pandemic winds down.
Most Popular Questions During Black Friday 2020
According to data gleaned from billions of web searches, the following questions were the most asked ones during Black Friday 2020:
- Why is it called Black Friday?
- Is Black Friday only one day?
- How much is a PS5 Black Friday?
- What Does Prime Day Mean?
- Is It Better To Wait For Cyber Monday?
- Who Does Cyber Monday?
- Does Apple Have A Black Friday Sale?
Can’t wait for Black Friday 2021? Amazon’s Prime Day kicks off on June 21.
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