You’ll find them in stores, you’ll find them online and you’ll find them in large numbers during the four-day Thanksgiving holiday break. They are shoppers participating in America’s annual year-end gift-giving season.
According to the National Retail Federation, that’s actually down from last year, when the total number of shoppers amounted to 147M. But it’s still a lot of people and the holiday remains an important time for retailers to cash in.
Statistics for the NRF study were gathered by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
“Though many people have already started to check off items from their holiday shopping lists, we fully expect to see many more come out on Thanksgiving Day and throughout the weekend to take in the festive sights and sounds – and to take advantage of unbeatable deals,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “As the official kick off to the holiday season, retailers are prepared to pull out all the stops for their online and in-store shoppers, including offering sweepstakes with cash prizes, free gifts with purchase and even exclusive opportunities to score top gift items before everyone else.”
Black Friday will live up to its reputation and be the biggest day. 97M, or about 69% of the 140M total will be active that day. 61M will be active Saturday (43.8%) and 34M will be active Sunday (24.2%).
On Thanksgiving Day itself, 33M, or 23.5% of prospective shoppers, will shop in stores or online – NRF says this marks the first time it has asked the question. 69.2% of this group did the same last year.
“Savvy shoppers know that the biggest shopping weekend of the year means even bigger savings, and those with specific gifts to buy will definitely be out and about or online over the holiday weekend,” said Prosper’s Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow. “Though most will adhere to a very strict budget and will make thoughtful decisions about the gifts they purchase, it’s evident that Americans are in the holiday spirit, despite their cautious approach to spending.”
RBR-TVBR observation: There’s still time to get your clients on the air during this all-important extended buy fest. This is a golden opportunity for retailers to get their message out there while consumers are very near the point of purchase.
And don’t forget other business categories that can earn some cash from consumers on the move. They have to eat, you know! And maybe they can coaxed into taking a break, maybe a couple of hours or so, about how long it takes to watch a movie or perhaps some other recreational pursuit.
There must be all kinds of businesses out there that might be persuaded to spring for some last-minute avails.
