Shoppers might be driven less by alluring marketing schemes and more by honoring family tradition. According to statistics released by the National Retail Federation, more than a quarter of consumers will shop over Black Friday to stick with custom — another 23 percent said they plan to shop to flee from household dynamics — or, just for something to do.
“This year, we updated our survey to more accurately capture consumer behavior throughout the entire shopping weekend — Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday,” NRF president and chief executive officer Matthew Shay said. “Consumers will benefit from competitive promotions both in stores and online lasting the course of the weekend, allowing them to find the best gifts at the lowest prices.”
To collect its research, NRF surveyed 7,439 consumers about their upcoming shopping plans.
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Unsurprisingly, most shoppers — 66 percent — intend to shop during the holiday shopping weekend because of the deals and promotions. Some consumers will be opting for the shopping cart over the turkey — according to research, 20 percent or 32 million people, plan to begin their buying on Thanksgiving Day.
“While the utility of the weekend will continue to draw shoppers into stores and online to efficiently and inexpensively check off their lists, we’re also seeing consumers report tradition and the opportunity to partake in holiday cheer as reasons for shopping, too,” Prosper principal analyst Pam Goodfellow said. “By now, people know what sort of deals they can expect to see during the weekend and are budgeting for them accordingly, and in many cases expertly.”
Black Friday remains to be predicted as the heaviest day of spending — 70 percent or 115 million people plan to shop then, the analysis found. Consumers increasingly might be becoming more loyal to local establishments, too. “A substantial 43 percent are expected to shop on Saturday (71 million), with 76 percent saying they will do so specifically to support Small Business Saturday. On Sunday, 21 percent expect to shop (35 million) and 48 percent are expected to shop on Cyber Monday (78 million),” an NRF spokesman said.
The holiday spirit might be more moving than ad hoc marketing campaigns. “When asked what they enjoy the most about shopping during the holidays, 35 percent said it is a family tradition while 23 percent said they most enjoy holiday decorations and displays; 18 percent cited finding the perfect gift for someone,” the analysis said.
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