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Black Friday: high hopes for a record post-COVID year

Sadia Corey VP, Client Development 23/11/2021
68% of Americans prefer to spend more on online shopping than in-store to avoid crowding

With Americans looking forward to the holiday season, brands are looking to give back to their audiences, with a flood of sales and bargains already underway. Black Friday deals started early this year, with early-bird sales starting in October and continuing for the days leading to thanksgiving. Americans seem to be looking back on the past holiday season as something of an isolated experience, many are exploring new ways of shopping and planning to increase their spending. We found more than one-third of Americans are planning to spend more on holiday shopping compared to last year.

Savanta wanted to understand where people are flocking concerning brand and marketplace.

With no surprise, online shopping seems to be the favored method of purchasing this holiday season, with ease and necessity being the most significant contributing factor. 68% of Americans prefer to spend more on online shopping than in-store to avoid crowding, and 63% prefer to spend more on online shopping because of the ease of shopping from home. 54% prefer to spend more on online shopping because of free shipping/delivery, and 50% say they prefer online ordering because it’s available 24 hours a day.

What are people buying this year?

The item that people will be purchasing most this year is clothing and accessories, including shoes and jewelry, which 66% of Americans are planning to purchase. The second-largest percentage of Americans plan to buy gift cards, data plans, or subscription products (55%). Electronics and accessories came third (48%), and Toys and hobbies like books, board games, or movies followed (46%). The product that people are least interested in buying for the holiday season is home furnishings, with 15% of Americans planning to purchase items like furniture or glassware.

Consumers are informed

The majority of people plan to research their products beforehand to find the best products available. More than half of Americans will use online retailers to research before making their holiday purchase (55%). 41% of Americans looking to explore on a general web search, 44% of Americans are looking to retail stores, and 34% of Americans will use retail websites or mobile apps when researching before purchasing. Only 23% will use review websites, and 23% will use social media sites to research before deciding.

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