A Third of Holiday Spending to Happen Thanksgiving Weekend

November 20, 2017 by Paul Ausick

Three-quarters of Americans who plan to buy holiday gifts this year will be shopping over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Some have already begun their searches for the perfect gift, while others will just be starting.

According to a Deloitte survey taken in October, the average holiday season spend this year is expected to be $1,226. For the coming weekend, the average shopper plans to spend $427  (34.8% of the average total) between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday and nearly 90% expect to stay within the budget they had set earlier in the season.

The data were reported by Deloitte based on an online survey of 1,225 U.S. adults 18 or older conducted by an independent research company between November 8 and November 10.

Other highlights from the survey:

  • On Thanksgiving Day, more people (28%) will shop online than in stores (25%) and the average shopper will spend $107.
  • Black Friday will attract the most in-store shoppers (70%) with the early-bird crowd (between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.) expected to spend the most ($225). More than half (52%) of shoppers also plan to visit stores on Saturday. On average, Black Friday shoppers will spend $156.
  • On Cyber Monday, 72% of shoppers will be shopping online.
  • The most preferred brick-and-mortar shopping venue (51%) is a traditional department store, followed by mass merchants (39%) and electronics/office supply/computer stores (38%).
  • Almost two-thirds (65%) of surveyed consumers plan to buy clothing and accessories over the weekend, while other top purchases include electronics (55%) and toys and hobby items (47%).
  • By age group, GenXers are expected to spend the most ($626), followed by millennials ($404), Boomers ($378), Seniors ($363), and GenZ ($292).
  • By region, Midwest shoppers are pegged to spend the most ($517), followed by those in the South ($424), the West ($396), and the Northeast ($369).

Additional data and more analysis is available at the Deloitte website.

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