According to the 2016 International Council of Shopping Centers Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping report, three quarters of Americans spent the same or more this year than last year, and 44% of that spend was on gifts.
Consumers who shopped on Thanksgiving and/or Black Friday spent an average of about $373, broken out to $165.20 on holiday gifts, $134.60 on non-gift merchandise, $48.20 on dining and $25.20 on entertainment.
Omnichannel retailers benefited the most from the Thanksgiving/Black Friday activity, ICSC stated, with 89% of shoppers spending at stores with both a physical and an online presence. In all, 80% of spending took place with retailers that have a physical presence, ICSC asserted, whereas only 18% occurred with online pure play retailers. In the period, 28% of shoppers bought an item online and picked it up in a store. Of the group, 64% bought at least one more item when collecting a purchase, up six percentage points from last year.
Consumers who hit the stores as the holiday weekend opened knew what they wanted, ICSC reported, especially Thanksgiving shoppers, who made purchases at 78% of the 3.9 stores they visited on Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday shoppers, on average, visited 4.3 stores and made a purchase at 67% of them. ICSC added that those numbers were consistent with 2015 figures.
ICSC noted that, looking forward from the Thanksgiving weekend, 61% of consumers anticipate similar deals/promotions coming their way in December, 29% think upcoming deals/promotions will be better and 10% believe forthcoming deals/promotions won’t be as good.
“While the holiday shopping season has lengthened and includes all of November and December, the Black Friday and Thanksgiving results are important, and this year serve as a positive indicator for the holiday season,” said Tom McGee, ICSC president and CEO.
