Shoppers Out In Force Over Thanksgiving Weekend
An estimated 197 million consumers shopped for their gift-giving needs over the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to a new report from the National Retail Federation.
The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the NRF, revealed that the number of shoppers hitting brick-and-mortar locations outnumbers those who shopped online. A total of 126 million consumers shopped in-store, up from 121.4 million in 2023. Online shoppers totaled 124.3 million, down from 134.2 million shoppers last year.
This year’s figures are the second-highest number in the survey’s history after last year’s record of 200.4 million and surpassed NRF’s initial expectations of 183.4 million shoppers.
Black Friday remains the most popular day for both in-store and online shopping: 81.7 million consumers shopped in stores on Black Friday, up from 76.2 million last year and the highest level since the pandemic. Approximately 87.3 million shopped online, down slightly from 90.6 million in 2023.
“Thanksgiving weekend retains its prominence among holiday spending events and continues to play a significant role in the holiday season for both consumers and retailers,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the NRF. “Even with this year’s shortened shopping period and the multitude of early sales promotions from retailers, this past weekend exceeded expectations in terms of the sheer volume of shoppers.”
Following a strong start to the weekend on Black Friday, momentum carried on throughout the weekend, as Saturday was the second highest for in-store shopping when 61.1 million consumers went to browse and buy in stores.
Cyber Monday remains the second most popular day for online shopping, attracting 64.4 million consumers compared with 73.1 million in 2023. The online event continues to evolve, with a majority (63%) of Cyber Monday online shoppers opting to use their mobile device, up from 55% last year and the highest since NRF first started tracking this.
The top shopping destinations during Thanksgiving weekend were department stores (42%), online (42%), grocery stores and supermarkets (40%), clothing and accessories stores (37%) and discount stores (32%).
“Whether it’s tradition, the deal, or simply an activity with friends and family, consumers continue to embrace Thanksgiving holiday weekend shopping,” said Phil Rist, executive vice president of Strategy with Prosper Insights. “Additional offerings like free shipping, a limited sale or promotion or a positive review helped convince most shoppers to move items from their shopping carts to the purchase finish line.”
While consumers shopped for several items over the weekend, many focused on picking up holiday gifts. Consistent with last year, 86% of shoppers during the five-day period purchased gifts, spending $235 — or $8 more than 2023 — on average.
The top gifts purchased during this period included clothing and accessories (bought by 49% of those surveyed), toys (31%), gift cards (27%), food and candy (23%), and personal care or beauty items (23%).
Nearly 4 in 10 shoppers said they took advantage of sales during the week before Thanksgiving. While many got an early start to their holiday shopping, 52% of consumers said they still had plenty of items remaining on their lists.
NRF defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 and has forecast that holiday spending is expected to reach record levels and will grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023, totaling $979.5 billion to $989 billion.
The survey of 3,055 adult consumers was conducted Nov. 27-Dec. 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.