Wednesday, November 29, 2023
The total also surpasses a prediction NRF floated earlier this fall of 182 million shoppers during the holiday weekend that began on Thanksgiving (Thurs., Nov. 23, 2023) and continued through Cyber Monday (Nov. 27).
That five days beginning on Thanksgiving represents some of the busiest shopping days of the year, " and reflects the continued resiliency of consumers and strength of the economy," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shaw. "Shoppers exceeded our expectations with a robust turnout."
The NRF-Prosper survey found the average consumer planned to spend $321.41 during the holiday weekend. But the survey did not attempt to tally total retail spend. Adobe Analytics, however, was able to flesh out the numbers for online shoppers. In all, U.S. consumers spent $105.2 billion online between Nov. 1 and Nov. 27, Adobe reported, spending the most ($9.8 billion ) on Black Friday, Nov. 24 (the day after Thanksgiving) and nearly $12 billion on Cyber Monday, Nov. 27.
Another data point offered by Adobe: shoppers have spent $7.3 billion online so far this season using buy now, pay later plans.
Adobe noted that much of the shopping activity this year seems motivated by steep discounts on products like televisions (the average price for which fell by over 21 percent between Oct. 1 and Nov. 26), sporting goods (down 16.2 percent), computers (23.7 percent), furniture (18.4 percent) and appliances (17.8 percent).
The NRF offered a similar assessment, with Shay noting during a call with the press that over half of the purchases (55 percent) respondents made over the Thanksgiving weekend were driven by sales and promotions. An additional 31 percent of participants said a limited-time sale or promotion got them out shopping the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Over the course of the weekend, consumers were able to find great deals and holiday gifts and other items they wanted," said Prosper Executive Vice President Phil Rist.
Top gift purchases, the NRF said, included clothing and accessories (purchased by 49 percent of those surveyed); toys (31 percent); gift cards (25 percent); books, video games and other media (23 percent); and personal care or beauty products (23 percent). Rist noted that this was the first year personal care and beauty items were among the most popular gift items purchased over the weekend.
Similar to last year, the NRF found that as of the end of Thanksgiving weekend, a majority of shoppers it surveyed (85 percent) were about halfway done with their holiday shopping. The NRF defines the holiday shopping season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, and has forecast holiday spending will reach total record levels of between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion during that two-month period.
The NRF and Prosper data came from a survey of nearly 2,500 adults between Nov. 22 and Nov. 26.
Shay explained that it's not easy to distinguish between purely online and purely in-store purchases, as many consumers shop both channels, and often make blended purchases (for example, purchasing something online for in-store pickup).
"The important thing to remember in the era of truly blended commerce is it's getting much more difficult to distinguish between purely in-store and purely online experiences," Shay said. "It speaks more to the convergence of retail that we've seen taking place across all channels." 
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