More than 151 million people went shopping over the Thanksgiving Weekend, according to the National Retail Federation’s Thanksgiving Weekend Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
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Thinner crowds in stores over Black Friday weekend were also partly attributable to virtual shopping. An average of $229.56 was found to have been specifically spent on gifts, which makes up 76.6% of total purchases.
The NRF president said in a statement, “It is clear that the age-old holiday tradition of heading out to stores with family and friends is now equally matched in the new tradition of looking online”.
“Retail is in the middle of an incredible revolution and evolution”. And sales on Thanksgiving dropped by the same percentage, to $1.8 billion.
Etailer trade association the IMRG says the day was one of “transition” as the event moved away from a single day of discounts in-store and online, to an event stretching over a week or more and taking place mostly online. Almost 32.4% shopped at clothing stores and 35.1% at electronic stores. Tablet owners indulged in browsing for holiday deals and purchase items.
The survey estimated that more than 103 million shopped online over the weekend, compared with almost 102 million in stores.
The NRF’s research also found that Cyber Monday shopping may not be a totally mainstream practice yet, but it’s getting close. Even with the smaller gain, Cyber Monday spending may hit a record $3 billion this year, according to Adobe Systems Inc. Of all adults surveyed, 49.5 percent planned to shop online during Cyber Monday, while 50.5 percent said they wouldn’t. And consumers responded by shopping earlier than ever.
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Shay said he thought retailers had been able to attract a higher number of shoppers than initially forecast over the Thanksgiving weekend because of promotions and better targeting of consumers through the “small screen” of their mobile phones.
