We’ve all seen videos of customers flooding through retailer doors in the small hours of Black Friday. While many of us are still asleep on the day after Thanksgiving, these shoppers are getting their Holiday shopping started with doorbuster deals—but what about this year? Will those shoppers still be rushing to stores? Or will the concerns of COVID-19 encourage them to stay home and snag deals from their laptops?
Not the type to leave anything up to guesswork, our Strategic Insights Team asked 5,000 future holiday shoppers how they expect to spend their Black Friday. Here’s what they learned:
Most Customers Will Do Their Holiday Shopping in November
One of the questions our team asked customers was when they planned to do their holiday shopping. More specifically, in which month did customers expect to begin their holiday shopping? More than half (54%) responded that they would start shopping in November.
Here are some other important results to note:
- 42% of respondents are planning to make purchases on Black Friday (in store)
- 39% plan to purchase on Cyber Monday (online)
- 19% plan to make purchases before Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Most Customers Will Shop the Same Ways They Did in 2019
Because 2020 is a year unlike any other, our experts wanted to know if customers would shop more, less, or about the same this year.
In a somewhat surprising twist, respondents noted that they were even more likely to shop on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in comparison to last year. They are also more likely to save shopping until December.
Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
One of the biggest questions retailers have on their minds is whether customers be participating more in Black Friday sales or Cyber Monday specials?
Well, many retailers have expanded their online sales to be more of a Cyber Week, with the full week of Thanksgiving offering opportunities for customers to save on holiday gifts. And it’s a good thing, because the majority of shoppers say that they will be shopping both in store and online.
No matter where customers are this Black Friday, there’s no doubt that they will be grateful for the brands that prioritize their safety!
For more details about our findings on in-store versus online holiday shopping, check out this infographic! We outline:
- How many shoppers will be in stores and online
- What customers are saying about their experiences
- What matters most to them in both places.
