An estimated 137.4 million people are considering shopping (both in-store and online) during Thanksgiving weekend, according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The numbers are higher than last year when 135.8 million people shopped. This time, the weekend covers Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday plus Sunday.
The survey pointed out that 21 per cent of weekend shoppers plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day, which is nearly the same as last year’s 22 per cent. However, Black Friday will remain the busiest day of the holiday weekend with 74 per cent planning to shop on that particular day.
“Black Friday remains one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with Americans planning to take advantage of aggressive in-store and digital promotions over the entire holiday weekend. Retailers know consumers are spreading out their holiday budgets to shop throughout the season,” said Matthew Shay, President and CEO, NRF.
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Additionally, a substantial 47 per cent are expected to shop on Saturday; of those shoppers, 24 per cent say they will be doing so specifically to support Small Business Saturday, up from 22 per cent last year. On Sunday, 24 percent are expected to shop.
According to the survey, 77 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds and 76 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds plan to shop over the weekend. As with shoppers overall, Black Friday is the day when most millennials plan to shop with 86 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds and 78 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds.