According to a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, there were more than 174 million consumers in the U.S. who made purchases in stores and online during the Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday period. This number surpassed an earlier survey from NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics that estimated 164 million shoppers for this period.
Average spending per person over the five-day period was $335.47, with $250.78— 75 percent—specifically going toward gifts. The biggest spenders were older millennials (25 to 34 years old) at $419.52.
The survey found that more than 64 million consumers shopped both online and in stores. In addition, more than 58 million shopped only online, and more than 51 million shopped only in stores. The multichannel shopper spent $82 more on average than the online-only shopper, and $49 more on average than those who only shopped in stores.
The most popular day for in-store shopping was Black Friday, with 77 million consumers, followed by 55 million consumers for Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday was the top day for online shopping with more than 81 million consumers, followed by Black Friday with more than 66 million consumers. In addition, 63 percent of smartphone owners used their mobile devices to make holiday decisions, and 29 percent used their mobile phones to make actual purchases.
The survey found that 11 percent of consumers shopped before 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day; 11 percent started at 6 p.m. on Black Friday; and 25 percent started at 10 a.m. or later.
On Cyber Monday, 49 percent of consumers started shopping early in the morning and 41 percent started in late morning, with 75 percent using their computers at home, 43 percent using a mobile device, and 13 percent shopping on computers at work. Additionally, 60 percent of consumers said that the majority of their purchases were driven primarily by sales, and 48 percent said deals were better than earlier this season.
Top shopping destinations included department stores (43 percent), online retailers (42 percent), electronic stores (32 percent), clothing and accessories stores (31 percent), and discount stores (31 percent). Popular gifts purchased included clothing or accessories (58 percent), toys (38 percent), books and other media (31 percent), electronics (30 percent), and gift cards (23 percent).
The survey asked 3,242 consumers about Thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Monday shopping plans, and was conducted November 25 to 26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.
