75% of Shoppers to Hit Stores Over Thanksgiving Weekend, Survey Says

Three-quarters of Americans plan to shop over Thanksgiving weekend, according to new survey data from Deloitte. The survey, which was conducted online between Nov. 8-Nov. 10 and polled a national sample of 1,224 adults aged18 and older, also found that respondents plan to spend an average of $427 between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, up from their intentions to spend $400 in last year’s survey. Other key findings from the survey include the following:

• On Black Friday, 70 percent of respondents plan to shop in stores, and 47 percent plan to shop online, down from 55 percent who planned to shop online last year. The momentum for brick-and-mortar is expected to continue through the weekend, as 52 percent plan to shop in-store Saturday, compared with 24 percent online, a drop from 36 percent in last year’s survey.
• Consumers expect to spend more than half (52 percent) of their holiday weekend budget online, and 46 percent in physical stores.
• More people will shop online (28 percent) than in-store (25 percent) on Thanksgiving Day. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of those who plan to shop on Thanksgiving say it’s because they don’t want to miss the best deals.
• Early-morning Black Friday shoppers will outspend others, as those shopping between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. plan to spend an average of $225. Those beginning their shopping at 6 a.m. expect to spend $147, followed by $161 between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.
• Traditional department stores are the No.1 physical store destination for the weekend, with 51 percent of shoppers planning to visit them, followed by mass merchants at 39 percent and electronics/office supply/computer stores at 38 percent.
• Regardless of where people shop, many will rely on digital shopping tools for assistance. Nearly four in 10 (38 percent) expect to buy something online while in-store due to better pricing and/or price matching, and 36 percent say they’ll be influenced by deals from a mobile device while in-store over Thanksgiving weekend. Consumers also won't have much tolerance for website performance issues, as 46 percent said they’ll use another retailer rather than wait if an online site has technical problems.

Total Retail's Take: Despite the doom-and-gloom reporting from earlier in the year, retail is entering what appears to be a strong holiday shopping season. Deloitte's study adds to a few other studies about 2017 holiday shopping that have recently been published. According to holiday predictions released last week from Adobe, for example, the holiday season's revenue is tracking 1.8 percent higher than predicted for a total of $13.9 billion in online revenue this holiday season. What's more, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported last week that more than 164 million  people are expected to shop during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. As such, it behooves retailers to be ready for the influx in traffic and the opportunity to make sure their brands shine.

"Store retailers will have shoppers’ attention with the overall excitement of the day and tradition of shopping with friends and family," said Rod Sides, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP,  in a statement. "That’s a tremendous opportunity to elevate the customer experience and create a strong rapport to drive sales. It starts with the digital part of the shopping journey, delivering creative and personalized promotions and touchpoints that create inspiration before the holiday weekend. That follows with an in-store experience that delights with displays, merchandise and seasonal atmosphere, along with services that make it easy for customers to find unique items and make quick transactions.”