Black Friday Bargains to Attract Up to 134 Million Shoppers This Year

Black Friday Bargains to Attract Up to 134 Million Shoppers This Year
November 24, 2009

According to a preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) by BIGresearch, up to 134 million people will shop this Friday, Saturday or Sunday, higher than the 128 million people who planned to do so last year. According to the survey, 57 million people say they will definitely hit the stores, while another 77 million are waiting to see what retailers are planning before heading out the door. For the first time, NRF polled Americans about their specific Black Friday shopping intentions. According to the survey, discount and department stores will be the biggest attractions for consumers this weekend, with 66.3 percent and 62.4 percent, respectively. In addition, four in ten (41 percent) will shop at electronics stores, 36.3 percent will head to a clothing and clothing accessories store, and 28.8 percent said they would shop at a grocery store. As an increased number of retailers offer special Black Friday promotions on their Web sites, more than one-quarter (27.6 percent) will shop online.

While some people will wait until the sun comes up to head out the door Black Friday morning, one in ten (10.3 percent) shoppers will brave the elements and get to the store between midnight and 3 a.m. More than one-quarter (28.8 percent) will check out the early-bird specials and head out between 4 a.m.-6 a.m., while 28.2 percent will go between 7 a.m.-9 a.m. Fervent 18- to 34-year-olds, who likely haven’t yet been to bed, will be the majority of retailers’ early hour shoppers, as 18.3 percent plan to head out between 12 a.m.- 3 a.m.

When it comes to what influences people to shop in particular stores over Black Friday weekend, coupons (40.6 percent), newspaper circulars (38.2 percent), television ads (27.8 percent) and word of mouth (26.5 percent) are among the ways shoppers make decisions. However, most (43.2 percent) people will base their shopping destinations on what types of items they have on their list.