Interpretable vs Predictive: Comparing Statistical and ML Models of Walmart Black Friday Demographics in Consumer Behaviour Analysis

Abstract: Walmart’s Black Friday, falling the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., marks the launch of holiday shopping and drives massive retail sales nationwide. Retailers face the challenge of balancing interpretable statistical insights with predictive machine learning to analyze consumer behavior. This research proposes a unified framework that emphasizes clarity, actionable insights, and predictive strength to guide retail decision-making. By integrating statistical methods with machine learning, the study enhances both retail insights and forecasting power. Looking ahead, retail analytics is poised to evolve through deep learning, real-time processing, and scalable data platforms, enabling faster adaptation to shifting consumer trends and competitive dynamics.

Keywords: Black Friday - Consumer Behavior - Machine Learning - statistics -Unified Framework