NRF ANNOUNCES POSITIVE RESULTS FROM 2023 THANKSGIVING WEEKEND 

Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF), Bill Thorne, SVP of Communications and Public Affairs at NRF, and Phil Rist, Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Prosper Insights & Analytics, presented the results of the organization’s annual survey of consumer holiday shopping behavior (Prosper conducted the survey) on a media call this morning.

Shay said there were big expectations based on a consumer survey NRF had conducted before the holiday weekend: Exceeding expectations the company reported a record 200.4 million consumers shopped over the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, surpassing last year’s record of 196.7 million, more than 18 million more than anticipated.

“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 Shay. “Shoppers exceeded our expectations with a robust turnout. Retailers large and small were prepared to deliver safe, convenient, and affordable shopping experiences with the products and services consumers needed, and at great prices.”

Personal care and beauty items (23%) made the list of top gifts purchased for the first time in the survey’s history.

The team credited results to good deals, retailers providing the right items—especially for gift-giving—favorable weather, and continued strength in the consumer sector of the economy. 95% of those who were shopping reported making a holiday-related purchase. Good news for menswear retailers, top gifts purchased were clothing and accessories (bought by 49% of those surveyed), followed by toys (31%), gift cards (25%), books, video games, and other media (23%).  Also of note to our industry, personal care and beauty items (23%) made the list of top gifts purchased for the first time in the survey’s history. Consumers spent $321.41 on average, consistent with $325.44 last year. Approximately 70% ($226.55) was spent specifically on gifts.

Consumers reported that on average, 55% of their Thanksgiving weekend purchases were specifically driven by sales and promotions, up from 52% in 2022. Another 31% said a limited-time sale or promotion convinced them to make a purchase they were hesitant about, up from 29% last year.

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

Consumers utilized both online and in-store channels throughout the weekend, with 121.4 million people visiting physical retail locations to browse items and 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.

Consistent with last year, about 44 million consumers used their home desktop or laptop to shop online on Cyber Monday. Another 40.5 million shopped online using their mobile devices, down from a record 45.7 million in 2022 but still well above pre-pandemic levels.

Black Friday continues to be the most popular day for in-store shopping, with 76.2 million shoppers opting to visit brick-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% of Saturday shoppers shopped specifically for Small Business Saturday.

Similar to last year, as of Thanksgiving weekend, the majority (85%) of consumers had started holiday shopping and were about halfway (48%) done so far. NRF defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 and has forecast that holiday spending is expected to reach record levels and will grow between 3% and 4%, totaling $957.3 billion to $966.6 billion.

The survey of 3,498 adult consumers was conducted Nov. 22-26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. Read more about the holiday season at the NRF Winter Holiday Headquarters.

Photo, at top, by Heidi Fin.