Holiday weekend set to see over 70% of US consumers shopping

By

Robin Driver

Published
Nov 20, 2018

Almost three quarters (71%) of consumers are intending to shop either online or in stores over the upcoming holiday weekend, according to a new study from Deloitte, which surveyed 1,200 US adults at the beginning of this month, with shoppers expecting to spend an average of $420 during the period.

 
91% of shoppers said that they would shop online, while 89% said they would be going to stores, suggesting that consumers are expecting to use both channels fairly equally.
 
These statistics, however, do change depending on the day. On Black Friday, for example, 70% of those surveyed said they will be heading to a store, while 50% said they would be shopping online.

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These figures are, perhaps unsurprisingly, flipped on Cyber Monday, when 73% of survey respondents expected to shop online, accounting for 47% of all online spending over the weekend.
 
Interestingly, while 81% of holiday weekend shoppers plan to shop on Black Friday, Cyber Monday is expected to see consumers spend an average of $170, more than on any of the other shopping days.
 
The majority of Black Friday shoppers (72%) are planning to get to the stores before 9 a.m. to get a head start on snapping up deals, which were the number one reason consumers said they would be shopping on the day, mentioned by 82% of those surveyed.
 
As for Thanksgiving, 26% of those surveyed said they be heading to stores on the day itself, with 29% intending to shop online. 68% of those planning to do so said that the idea was to get ahead on sales, while 55% said that it was a tradition with family and friends.
 
Indeed, over the holiday weekend, 61% of consumers said they would in engage in shopping as a social activity, a figure which was even higher among young shoppers, hitting 76% in Gen Z.
 
Among in-store shoppers, 45% said they would go to mass merchants, 43% to department stores and 33% electronic and office supply stores.
 
“The signs are in retailers' favor heading into the weekend, with traffic spread over multiple shopping days and both online and in-store channels,” said Rod Sides, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and US retail and distribution leader in a press release, before pointing out that 45% of shoppers surveyed were still undecided as to which stores or sites they would shop at, suggesting that retailers still have the opportunity to win customers over with attractive deals and services.

However, with competition so high, retailers should also be aware that shoppers have no qualms about seeking out the best price and shopping experience. 51% said they would use another retailer if a site has technical issues, while 41% claimed that they would buy something digitally while in a store if the item turned out to be priced better online.