Deloitte: Retailers should feel grateful for upcoming Thanksgiving weekend
Consumers are prepared to spend online and off between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Seventy-nine percent of consumers plan to shop for holiday gifts during the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday (Nov. 28 – Dec. 2), according to the Deloitte Pre-Thanksgiving Pulse Survey.
The average spend is expected to be $415 per household.
Gen X shoppers plan on spending the most during the Thanksgiving period (an average of $452), closely followed by millennials at $446. Gen Z consumers will spend less at an average of $335, but they lead all groups in heading to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday at 82%, followed by 60% of millennial shoppers who plan to be in stores on Black Friday.
Online shopping is expected to account for more than half (53%) of Thanksgiving period spend ($234). For those who will shop in-store during the Thanksgiving period, 36% will do so on Cyber Monday.
Other key findings include:
• 94% of respondents planning to shop during the Thanksgiving period will shop online, with 87% planning to shop in-store. Online retailers and mass-merchant stores are the preferred shopping venues.
• Almost all respondents (91%) said they planned to spend the same or more when compared to two months ago. A third of them (38%) plan to spend more.
• More than 40% of all online spend for the Thanksgiving period is expected to occur on Cyber Monday, Dec. 2. Additionally, of consumers who plan on shopping online, 72% will do so on Cyber Monday.
• Of those who plan to shop in-store, 70% will do so on Black Friday. More than one-quarter of respondents (26%) will do so on Thanksgiving Day.
• For those individuals who plan on shopping online, one-third (33%) will do so on Thanksgiving Day and 54% plan to shop online on Black Friday.
“Despite retailers getting a jump-start on holiday deals, whether that’s announcing a pre-Black Friday sale or offering free shipping, we’re expecting a solid showing in stores on Black Friday this year,” said Rod Sides, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and U.S. leader, retail, wholesale and distribution. “For many groups of friends and family, Black Friday shopping is a tradition that brings them all together. However, online shopping continues to attract shoppers, both on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In fact, of the folks we surveyed, more plan on shopping online than in-store during the Thanksgiving period.”
Deloitte commissioned a survey of 1,200 consumers.