NRF: Foot traffic up for Black Friday; shopper gains expected for Cyber Monday, too

WASHINGTON – As many as 122 million Americans will be surfing for deals online at some point on Cyber Monday, the National Retail Federation reported Sunday.

That's up from the 121 million who had planned to participate last year, according to NRF's Cyber Monday Expectations Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics over the weekend.

Already more than 154 million consumers were expected to have shopped both in-store and online over Thanksgiving weekend, up from 151 million shoppers in 2015, according to NRF's separate annual Thanksgiving weekend results survey.



Average spending per person over Thanksgiving weekend totaled $289.19, down slightly from $299.60 last year. With an average of $214.13 specifically going toward gifts, or 74% of total purchases, NRF reported.

When it comes to where consumers shopped over the weekend, the survey found that 44% went online and 40% shopped in-store. The most popular day to shop online was Black Friday, up 1.3% from last year to 74%, followed by Saturday (49%), Thanksgiving (36%) and Sunday (34%). And, of those that shopped in store, 75% shopped on Black Friday, up 3.4% from last year, 40% on Saturday, 35% on Thanksgiving and 17% on Sunday.

“It was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals,” stated Matthew Shay, president and CEO NRF. “In fact, over one third of shoppers said 100% of their purchases were on sale,” he said.

Millennials (ages 18 – 34) continue to drive the increase in shopping during Thanksgiving Weekend. Eight in 10 shopped over the weekend, of which 25-34-year olds shopped the most in store (56% and online (62%.



The survey found that of those that shopped in store, 51% shopped at department stores, 34% at discount stores, 32% at electronics stores, 28% at clothing or accessories stores and 25% at grocery/supermarket stores.



“Millennials are keeping retailers on their toes when it comes to Thanksgiving weekend shopping not just for their friends and family, but also themselves,” Prosper’s principal analyst Pam Goodfellow said. “However, Millennials are not the only ones taking advantage of great promotions, today’s consumers, across ages, are savvy about when and where they shop.”



Some of the most popular gifts  purchased over the weekend included clothing or clothing accessories (50%), toys (32%), electronics (30%), books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games (28%) and gift cards (20%).



According to the survey, 56% of smartphone owners and 53% of tablet owners used their devices to assist with weekend shopping activities.

“On Cyber Monday, retailers deliver online discounts unlike any other day of the year — driving consumers to shop online no matter where they are or what device they’re shopping from,” Shay said. “Millions of consumers shopped over Thanksgiving weekend and reserved a portion of their budgets exclusively for Cyber Monday, knowing that there will be digital deals that are too good to pass up.”

More than 28 million people, or 23% of Cyber Monday shoppers, plan to shop for Cyber Monday deals from their mobile device this year, about even with last year’s 29.6 million. More than eight in 10 — 98.6 million people —  will use their computers at home to shop on Monday, while 11.2 million will shop from their computers at work.

On Cyber Monday, retailers offer deals around the clock and consumers know to check-in with their favorite retailers early and often to find the deals they’re looking for. Early morning remains the busiest time for online shopping — 38.9% of those shopping on Cyber Monday will shop first thing in the morning, while 33.9% will shop late in the morning, 16% will shop over lunch and 31% will shop in the early afternoon.

“Shopping online is more convenient than ever before — while travelling, emailing or relaxing at home, we’re seeing consumers of all ages researching and shopping for online deals,” Goodfellow said. “Cyber Monday deals have become something that smart shoppers rely on, and this year is no different. Consumers wake up early ready to shop at their favorite retailers for the items they’ve had their eye on all season.”



The survey, conducted Nov. 25-26 by Prosper Insights & Analytics for NRF, polled 4,330 consumers and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5%.