No less than 85 percent of adults in the U.S. plan to be out shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend this year — traditionally the beginning of the holiday shopping season — and the vast majority of them say they will be visiting retail centers, according to an ICSC report. The share of people shopping during the four-day period will exceed last year (83 percent).
Four-fifths of shoppers will visit malls and other shopping centers over the weekend. On Black Friday alone, roughly two-thirds of shoppers plan to visit a shopping center, according to the Industry Insights report.
Promotions remain a priority with many shoppers — more than half (53 percent) say that special deals over the Thanksgiving weekend, and in particular on Black Friday, are just as important or even more so than in the past.
“Four-fifths of shoppers will visit malls and other shopping centers over the weekend”
“In-store promotions and their impact on consumer habits are clear evidence of the central role physical retail plays in creating a memorable holiday shopping season,” said Tom McGee, president and CEO of ICSC.
Physical stores will attract 84 percent of shoppers over the weekend. That jumps to 94 percent when those who make purchases from the websites of physical stores are included. When it comes to money spent, 73 percent of Thanksgiving weekend shopping dollars spent on merchandise will go to brick-and-mortar retailers (either in store or online).
On Black Friday alone, roughly two-thirds of shoppers plan to visit a retail center
Shoppers plan to spend, on average, $470 on goods and services during the weekend. About 71 percent of that will go towards merchandise, while 29 percent will be spent on food and other services. Shoppers will especially target apparel and footwear (82 percent) and toys/games and electronic items (74 percent each). Food and beverage gifts will be purchased by 72 percent, and 69 percent will be going for home goods and housewares.
Discount department stores, supermarkets and traditional department stores will be the most popular destinations among shoppers over the weekend.
Click-and-collect shopping, by which customers buy online and pickup their goods in stores, will be popular, with 44 percent of holiday weekend shoppers saying they’ll be shopping this way compared to 40 percent in 2018. Of this year’s click-and-collect shoppers, nearly three quarters say they expect to make an additional purchase when picking up their merchandise.
Discount department stores, supermarkets and traditional department stores will be the most popular destinations over the weekend
By generation, Gen-Xers expect to spend the most ($538) over the weekend, 11 percent more than Millennials ($484), and 46 percent more than boomers ($369).
Shoppers in the Northeast plan to spend the most, 40 percent more than those in the Midwest, who expect to spend the least.
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
