Shoppers showed up the day after Thanksgiving, but their cash went to bargains, sales and less expensive items.

• More shoppers hit the stores this holiday weekend than last year, but this time they were in search of sales and small appliances.
• Department stores were a big hit, with just over half of all shoppers visiting at least one during the weekend (a 13% increase from last year!)
• Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, attracts many shoppers to the Internet for large sales on items that did not sell as well during the weekend. Cyber Monday is an important day in sales for many e-commerce sites, but projections are lower based on the fact that many people who would normally shop during their lunch hours at work are too worried about job security to do so.

Facts & Figures

• 195 million shoppers ventured into stores during the holiday weekend, as compared with 172 million last year.
• Average spending, per consumer, dropped to $343.31 per person, down from $372.57 a year ago.
• 63.8% of shoppers shopped for themselves this year (though Black Friday is traditionally popular among gift shoppers). Also, 31.2% of shoppers were in line for stores at or before 5:00 am.

Best Quote

“During a more robust economy, people may be inclined to hit the snooze button on Black Friday, but high unemployment and a focus on price caused shoppers to visit stores early in anticipation of the best deals.” – Phil Rist, Executive Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at BIGresearch