Study: Cyber Monday outshines all Black Friday weekend shopping days

11/10/2017
The Black Friday shopping weekend may span five days, but Cyber Monday is expected to be the most popular shopping day.

In fact, nearly 72% of consumers planning to shop online for Cyber Monday, followed by Black Friday (69%), and then Thanksgiving (49%), according to the “2017 Holiday Shopping Survey,” from Offers.com.

As the tech generation, 88% of millennials will be shopping on Cyber Monday this year – roughly 20% more than shoppers over 35 who plan to do so.

While Cyber Monday is the most favored shopping day overall, Black Friday shopping garnered a surprising surge of popularity with millennials. Specifically, younger generations are 19% more likely than any other age group to hit the brick-and-mortar stores come Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Technology continues to play a major part of the shopping holiday, especially with a 17% increase in mobile use in the past two years. In fact, all Black Friday weekend long, more consumers will be shopping online or via a mobile device (33%) compared to in-store 30%.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers (73%) plan to use their mobile devices to assist with holiday shopping. While mobile usage is not up among people using it to shop, more consumers are heavily relying on mobile devices to look for coupons, compare prices, check reviews and get directions to the store for an optimal holiday shopping experience, the study said.

As online retailers continue to undercut brick-and-mortar retailers (and offer the obvious convenience factor), online shopping is becoming increasingly compelling for shoppers. Holiday-shopping aside, the overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (96%) shop online throughout the year. Meanwhile, 64% shop online monthly, up 7% from 2016.

When it comes to coupon usage, 77% of consumers will search online for deals before a holiday purchase at least some of the time, and more than half (51%) will do so at least most of the time. Those in the 55+ age bracket are the least likely to search in advance for coupons.

When it comes to specific brands, stores such as Target, Walmart and Kohl’s will be the busiest between Black Friday and Cyber Monday — but for a good reason. Year after year, these retailers have shown major discounts on the top items consumers are looking for, such as clothing, electronics, gift cards and toys.

Specifically, 60% of shoppers will hit Walmart, 45% will shop with Target, and 29% will go to Kohl’s. Best Buy has 26% of shoppers.

A new player in the game is Amazon, having risen to the top spot in consumer popularity within the recent years. With Amazon providing sales on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, plus fast shipping and no lines, it’s not hard to see why the online retail giant has risen to the top, with 67% of consumers shopping there.

When it comes to the top holiday gift items — and the percentage of consumers looking for deals on these items — clothing tops the list at 54%, followed closely by electronics (TVs, Tablets, etc.) (46%), gift cards (39%), toys (37%), and video games and equipment (33%).
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