According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, Small Business Saturday was the second busiest day in the five-day shopping holiday that began on Thanksgiving day and ended on Monday. Here are the rankings of the five days.
84.2 million shoppers | Black Friday
59.9 million shoppers | Small Business Saturday
37.8 million shoppers | Thanksgiving Day
29.2 million shoppers | Sunday
21.8 million shoppers | Cyber Monday (21.8 million).
“Of those shopping on Saturday, 73 percent were likely to shop specifically for Small Business Saturday.”
(Source: NRF.com)
Thanksgiving weekend drew nearly 190 million shoppers
A record 189.6 million U.S. consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, an increase of 14 percent over last year’s 165.8 million. Thanksgiving is still a critical weekend for millions,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a conference call on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
“Whether they’re looking for something unique on Main Street, making a trip to the store or searching for the best deals from their mobile device, this is when shoppers shift into high gear. With the condensed holiday season, consumers are feeling the pressure to get their shopping done in time. Even those who typically wait until the last minute to purchase gifts turned out in record numbers all weekend long.”
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay
$362 | Average amount spent by shoppers, up 16 percent from $313.29 during the same period last year.
124 million | Number of people who shopped in stores
142 million | Number of people who shopped on retailers’ websites
75.7 million | Shopped in both channels
$366.70 million | Amount spent by those who shopped in both channels
“The growth in online retail sales is a tide that lifts everybody,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “When consumers are buying from retailers online but picking up or making returns in-store, it is more and more difficult to distinguish between the sales retailers make in their stores and the ones they make on their websites.”
Top gift purchases during five-day shopping holiday
58% | Apparel
33% | Toys
31% | Electronics
28% | Books/music/movies/video games
27%| Gift cards
Shopping destinations cited by surveyed shoppers
50% | Department store
36% | Clothing store
34% | Grocery store
32% | Electronics store
29% | Discount store
On average, consumers had completed 52 percent of their shopping holiday shopping, up from 44 percent during the same period last year. Thanksgiving came six days earlier in 2018, making this year a “short shopping season.”
The survey found only 39 percent of shoppers believe deals seen over the Thanksgiving weekend will get better throughout the rest of the season.
NRF defines the holiday season as November 1 through December 31 and has forecast that sales will total between $727.9 and $730.7 billion.
Photos: American Express Facebook Page, Getty Images