An estimated 182 million people are planning to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. This figure is 15.7 million more people than last year and is the highest estimate since NRF began tracking this data in 2017.
“The Thanksgiving holiday weekend marks some of the busiest shopping days of the year, as consumers enjoy the tradition of shopping for the perfect gifts for friends and loved ones,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.
The poll indicates that 74 per cent of holiday buyers intend to purchase over the course of this year’s five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This is higher than the 69 per cent pre-pandemic level in 2019. The best reasons for shoppers to plan to purchase during this time are tradition (28 per cent), followed by discounts that are too good to pass up (61 per cent).
With 72 per cent (130.7 million) of consumers expected to purchase on Black Friday, it remains the most popular shopping day, up from 69 per cent in 2022. Cyber Monday is the second most popular day, drawing 39 per cent (71.1 million) of the weekend shoppers, which is similar to 38 per cent of the previous year.
In keeping with previous years, as of early November, 59 per cent of holiday buyers had begun perusing and making purchases in an effort to get ahead on their shopping. Holiday buyers have, on average, finished 25 per cent of their planned purchases.
“Early shopping is a trend we have been tracking for several years, and this year, there is evidence the deals and promotions from October resonated with consumers,” Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said.
Even with early shopping, the five-day shopping event that begins on Thanksgiving Day and continues through the following Monday will represent some of the busiest shopping days of the year.
