RetailMeNot studies anticipate Black Friday weekend spending up 47%

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Nov 6, 2017

Recent studies conducted by RetailMeNot indicates both retailers and consumers anticipate an uptick in spending for Holiday 2017 with significant growth coming from Cyber Monday sales.

RetailMeNot's study indicated consumer spending will increase 47% over Black Friday weekend through Cyber Monday. Seven out of ten consumers said they expected to spend almost $750 this year compared to $500 last year.

Children will garner the largest spend, with consumers planning to spend an average of $330 on their children. Consumers will also spend an average of just under $200 on their significant others, $100 on their parents, $90 on their siblings and almost $60 on their best friends.

Ads

Cyber Monday has become a major shopping event with 56% consumers polled reporting they will make online purchases that day. According to Adobe data, Cyber Monday sales for 2016 totaled $3.39 billion. That amount was up 10% over 2015 and also beat out Black Friday online sales of $3.34 billion.

While e-commerce will continue to grow, half of RetailMeNot's consumers surveyed said they plan to go to a brick-and-mortar store for holiday shopping. RetailMeNot’s Chief Marketing Officer, Marissa Tarleton, pointed out that this will be an opportunity for retailers to offer exceptional customer service in person and round out the omnichannel experience for their brands.

While clothes, footwear and electronics are mainstay categories, RetailMeNot saw an increase in spending on food, travel and entertainment which indicates a trend towards experiential gifts.

81% of consumers will be keeping an eye on six channels of marketing to get the best deals and social media will play a large role in informing shoppers through word of mouth. Consumers will also be watching search engines, deal and savings apps, mobile retail apps and newspapers.

RetailMeNot pooled data from 1,015 US consumers who took a Google holiday shopping survey between July 31 and August 1, 2017. It also surveyed 201 retail marketers in May, 2017.