November 27th 2023.
Despite some shoppers feeling like the Black Friday deals are not quite up to par with what they have been accustomed to, consumers still plan to spend an average of $567 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to CBS News, a Deloitte report shows that this is 13% more than they spent during the same sales holiday last year. Retailers have stepped up their game, offering better sales and deeper discounts in order to attract customers despite higher inflation and credit card rates.
Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, commented that “Cyber Week is off to a strong start, with Thanksgiving driving a record $5.6 billion in online spend as consumers took advantage of strong discounts and continued their shopping plans, virtually.”
Despite this, many Americans are still worried about the cost of rent and groceries outstripping their income. Neil Saunders, retail analyst at GlobalData Retail, said that these worries have made consumers more cautious about spending, but still receptive to bargains. As a result, Black Friday set a record in the US with $9.8 billion in online sales, up 7.5% from a year ago. Of that amount, $5.3 billion was spent by mobile shoppers and $79 million was from consumers who used a “buy now, pay later” method, up 47% from last year.
Reuters reported that Black Friday deals on toys, games, and hobby gear will be the best deals since 2020, while men’s suits, outerwear, and sport coats are 8-14% cheaper than they were pre-pandemic. Women’s dresses and audio equipment have also seen the same 8-14% decrease in cost.
At least half of shoppers are expected to take advantage of the sales prices, planning to complete their holiday shopping during this four-day window. The National Retail Federation predicted that 182 million people will shop between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, the most since 2017. Additionally, shoppers are planning to spend more online than in stores on Black Friday in order to avoid the crowds.
On Twitter/X, many also took time to highlight the various demonstrations against Black Friday shopping as Israel and Hamas declared a temporary cessation in fighting, urged by the United States. Many users noted that this coincided with Thanksgiving and the Black Friday consumer holiday. In light of this, Keke Palmer teamed up with Google to promote Black-owned businesses with the hashtag “Baby This Is Black-OWNED Friday.”
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