UberMedia reveals retail loyalty and Black Friday shopping habits

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Nov 30, 2015

UberMedia, a cross-screen mobile insight, advertising and measurement platform, on Monday revealed shopping behavior data from this year’s Black Friday weekend.

The platform analyzed a sample of 1.7 million US shoppers who visited 13,000 retail locations over the weekend, including Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Nordstrom, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other national retailers. The report found that shopper behavior was remarkably similar—Black Friday shoppers visited multiple locations and “early bird” shoppers visited the same stores that they would typically visit on non-holiday shopping weekends.
 
Thanksgiving day openings and overnight deals bring in a different crowd than the retailers typical customer, and they tend to be less affluent with up to 4% lower median income and 9% less median house value. Black Friday shoppers are also willing to travel farther for deals than they normally would on a typical weekend. By Sunday of the Black Friday weekend, more affluent customers start their shopping.

“As the competition for holiday shoppers heats up, one thing is very clear, holiday shoppers are religiously visiting their favorite stores. This seems to indicate that the retail experience matters and that brand loyalty trumps ‘door buster’ deals from competitors trying to gain market share,” said Michael Hayes, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer at UberMedia.
 
When it comes to specific retailer shoppers, JCPenney and Target shoppers travel the farthest distance for deals while Walmart and Home Depot shoppers travel the shortest distance both in comparison to non-holiday shopping weekends. Also, Target customers are four times more likely to shop at Kohl’s than Nordstrom, and Macy’s customers are twice as likely to head to JCPenney than to Kohl’s.
 
Hayes continued, “As consumers, our mobile devices are always on, always connected, and always with us. UberMedia helps marketers understand the mobile clues that help identify their customer. These mobile digital breadcrumbs are powerful signals of interest and intent that if analyzed can reveal powerful insights for retailers in understanding the heart of their holiday consumer and their shopping journey.”
 
UberMedia is a network company of Idealab, a creator and operator of technology businesses. In 2012, it was ranked #16 in The Wall Street Journal's Top 50 Start-ups and was listed as one of Fast Company's “50 Most Innovative Companies.”