Shoppers Start Earlier
Thanksgiving weekend brought out more than 141 million shoppers, up from 139 million over the same time period last year, according to the latest survey from Prosper Insights & Analytics for National Retail Federation. Although Black Friday was the biggest day, Thanksgiving Day grew 27 percent, with nearly 45 million shoppers (31.8 percent of holiday shoppers) hitting the malls and retailers’ websites. On Black Friday, more than 92 million people shopped, (65.2%), up from nearly 89 million last year.
Although the survey showed a slight decline in average spending from Thursday through Sunday, $407.02 compared to $423.55 last year, NRF is still expecting total holiday sales to increase 3.9 percent to $602 billion.
Significant trends that surfaced this year include the following:
- More than three quarters of young people aged 18-34 (76.2%) shopped or planned to shop over the holiday weekend. This was higher than any other age group.·
- More shoppers spent more of their holiday budgets online, approximately 59 million shoppers.
- ·More shoppers were at the stores earlier this year, with 25.4% arriving by 8 P.M. on Thanksgiving night.
- Advertising circulars and retailers’ emails helped shoppers find bargains. Almost half of holiday shoppers found information about promotions/sales through advertising circulars, one-third used online searches, 36.8% used emails from retailers, and another 12.2% browsed for deals in Facebook.
Is your business equipped with a POS System that can track and target your customers, allowing you to provide them with information on sales and promotions in a timely manner? NCR’s Counterpoint CustomerConnect does just that! Don’t miss out on sales opportunities for the remainder of the holiday season. Call us today for more information at 800/425-672-4806 or email us. Time is money—don’t delay!