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Store Aisles and Apps Busy Over Thanksgiving Weekend

Strong retail activity for 5-day period reflects resilient consumers: NRF

Published

10 months ago

November 29, 2023

INSTORE Staff

Store Aisles and Apps Busy Over Thanksgiving Weekend

PHOTOGRAPHY: Alexandros Michailidis/iStock.com

A record 200.4 million U.S. consumers shopped over the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, surpassing last year’s record of 196.7 million, an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics concludes. The figures surpassed NRF’s initial expectations of 182 million shoppers.

“The five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday represents some of the busiest shopping days of the year and reflects the continued resilience of consumers and strength of the economy,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Consumers used both online and in-store channels throughout the weekend, with 121.4 million people visiting physical retail locations to make in-store purchases. This figure is consistent with 122.7 million in 2022. Online shoppers totaled 134.2 million, up from 130.2 million last year.

Black Friday continued to be the most popular day for in-store shopping, with 76.2 million shoppers visiting bricks-and-mortar locations, up from 72.9 million in 2022. About 59 million consumers shopped in stores on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, down from 63.4 million last year. On par with last year, 78 percent of Saturday shoppers shopped specifically for Small Business Saturday.

Continuing the trend that started in 2019, Black Friday was also the most popular day for online shopping. Roughly 90.6 million consumers shopped online on Black Friday, up from 87.2 million in 2022. By comparison, approximately 73 million consumers shopped online on Cyber Monday, down slightly from 77 million last year.

The top destinations for Thanksgiving weekend shoppers were online (44 percent), grocery stores and supermarkets (42 percent), department stores (40 percent), clothing and accessories stores (36 percent) and electronics stores (29 percent).

Click here for more from the study.

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”