Nearly 180 million Americans shopped during the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving Day through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.


51 million shoppers participated in Small Business Saturday.

The importance of supporting local businesses remained top of mind for many consumers, with 71% indicating they were shopping specifically on Small Business Saturday. Black Friday surpassed Cyber Monday in terms of total online shoppers, with 88 million shopping online the Friday after Thanksgiving compared with 77 million on Monday.


“Retailers have adapted and enticed customers with a number of incentives throughout November. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend remains a significant time for friends and families to check specific holiday items off their lists. Over the last few years, consumers have shifted their holiday shopping plans to start earlier in the season.”

NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay


179.8 million | Number of unique shoppers who made in-store and online purchases during the holiday weekend. The figure compares with 186.4 million shoppers in 2020 and is in line with the average of the last four years.
49% | Percentage of shoppers surveyed who said they took advantage of early holiday sales or promotions before Thanksgiving this year. 
82% | Percentage of shoppers surveyed who felt the deals were the same or better than last Thanksgiving weekend.


The number of people who shopped in stores increased this year. 

Retailers saw an increase in foot traffic, with approximately 104.9 million shoppers visiting stores, up from 92.3 million in 2020.

The overall number of online shoppers decreased to a total of 127.8 million from 145.4 million last year. 

Black Friday remained the most popular day for in-store shopping, with 66.5 million shoppers.

$301.27 | Holiday-related purchases such as gifts, décor, apparel, and toys. (This is down slightly from $311.75 in 2020.

Top gift purchases over the weekend (bought by percent of those surveyed)

51% | Clothing and accessories
32% | Toys
28% | Gift cards/certificates
27% | Books, music, movies, video games 
24% | Electronics

With a longer holiday shopping season, consumers have welcomed the flexibility it offers. 

84% | Percentage of holiday shoppers surveyed who said they have already started shopping
52% | Percentage of holiday shoppers surveyed who said they have already completed their holiday shopping


SOURCE | NRF defines the holiday season as of November 1 through December 31 and has forecast that sales will grow between 8.5 percent and 10.5 percent over 2020 to between $843.4 billion and $859 billion. According to NRF’s annual survey released in October, consumers plan to spend $997.73 on gifts, holiday items, and other non-gift purchases for themselves and their families this year. The survey of 5,759 adult consumers was conducted November 24-29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points.


Read more about the holiday season at the NRF Winter Holiday Headquarters.

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