WASHINGTON – From Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, more than 165 million Americans shopped either in stores or online, surpassing the 164 million who had said they would shop in a consumer sentiment survey conducted ahead of the holiday, the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics said today.
The average shopper spent $313.29 on gifts and other holiday items over the five-day period, down from $335.47 during the same period last year. Of the total, $217.37 or 69 percent was specifically spent on gifts. The biggest spenders were older millennials and Gen Xers (35-44 years old) at $413.05.
"This is a very strong emotional start to the holiday season and a positive indicator of where we are headed over the next month.”
“For several years, we’ve been talking about the dynamic nature of the retail industry and the speed of change necessary to meet the consumer demand,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “This year’s research clearly shows that the investments made by retailers are paying off in a big way. Over the last couple of days, what I heard in discussions with retail CEOs across all categories and segments was very positive, driven by macro conditions of low unemployment and rising wages combined with the right mix of merchandise at great prices. This is a very strong emotional start to the holiday season and a positive indicator of where we are headed over the next month.”
Retailers’ investments in technology continued to pay off with consumers seamlessly shopping on all platforms throughout the weekend. The survey found more than 89 million people shopped both online and in stores, up nearly 40 percent from last year. The multichannel shopper outspent the single-channel shopper by up to $93 on average.
Spending estimates from various groups have indicated that Thanksgiving weekend was record-breaking for the retail industry, consistent with NRF’s holiday forecast of up to a 4.8 percent increase in holiday spending over the months of November and December. In addition, purchases over the long weekend showed new trends coming from younger consumers, with Gen Zers and younger millennials aged 18-24 spending an average $149 on holiday purchases for themselves, more than any other generation.
Top purchases over the weekend included apparel (bought by 57 percent of those surveyed), toys (34 percent), books and video games (29 percent), electronics (26 percent) and gift cards (20 percent).
“This year, Gen Zers and millennials changed the way they shopped over Thanksgiving weekend,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “These younger shoppers have become savvier when it comes to their research by leveraging social media to find inspiration for their purchasing decisions and used the holiday weekend to splurge on non-gift purchases for the season.”
With more shopping days before Christmas this year, consumers are taking their time to finalize their holiday gift purchases. On average, consumers have more than half (56 percent) of their holiday shopping left to do. Many consumers (92 percent) believe that the strong deals seen over Thanksgiving weekend will continue or improve throughout the rest of the season.
Top shopping destinations during the weekend included department stores (42 percent), online retailers (38 percent), apparel stores (30 percent), grocery stores (30 percent), discount stores (29 percent) and electronics stores (27 percent).
The survey, which asked 3,058 consumers about Thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Monday shopping plans, was conducted November 24-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
About Prosper Insights & Analytics
Prosper Insights & Analytics is a global leader in consumer intent data serving the financial services, marketing technology, and retail industries. We provide global authoritative market information on U.S. and China consumers via curated insights and analytics. By integrating a variety of data including economic, behavioral and attitudinal data, Prosper helps companies accurately predict consumers’ future behavior to help identify market behaviors, optimize marketing efforts, and improve the effectiveness of demand generation campaigns.
About NRF
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association. Based in Washington, D.C., NRF represents discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.