Black Friday, Cyber Monday Promise Best Deals Of The Year After Another Early Start

– 85% of consumers plan to shop across Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, higher than the 78% who planned to do so in 2018

– Consumers plan to spend an average of $738 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday

AUSTIN, Texas – The holiday shopping season is full steam ahead, and consumers are eager to cash in on the deals. New data from leading savings destination RetailMeNot in conjunction with Kelton Global reveals 85% of consumers plan to shop this year during Cyber Weekend, from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, up from 78% in 2018.

Despite losing six days this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 65% of consumers believe it will be easier to find good deals — and they’re not wrong.

RetailMeNot analyzed its comprehensive offer database from the 2018 holiday season and found that more deals were available before Thanksgiving than ever before, with a 44% year-over-year increase in retailers promoting Black Friday offers as early as the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 2018.

RetailMeNot predicts the trend of releasing Black Friday deals a week before the day will continue again this year.

Consumers said they will be shopping primarily for small electronics during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend, followed by apparel and shoes:

• Small electronics (69%)
• Apparel (58%)
• Shoes (42%)
• TVs and Laptops (35%)
• Tablets (27%)
• Jewelry (25%)

“Elongated availability of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will not diminish the fact that they will remain the best deals of the entire year,” says Michelle Skupin, senior director of retail insights at RetailMeNot. “Consumers are already taking advantage of the early deal releases while still looking forward to Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.”

As consumers continue to push through their holiday shopping lists, RetailMeNot internal data from November 1-10, 2019 shows retailers are also taking advantage of early consumer shopping interest by:

• Promoting earlier: 10% year-over-year growth in retailers promoting holiday-related offers during the first 10 days of November.
• Leveraging the convenience of “buy online, pick up in store” (BOPIS): 30% of retailers offering BOPIS are sweetening the deal with a discount versus just 20% that did so in 2018.
• Being strategic with time-bound offers: 34% year-over-year growth in top retailers offering flash sales lasting just one day

More than 300 retailers also participated in RetailMeNot’s Cash Back Day on November 7, strategically aligning to the sweet spot of early deals and time-bound offers.

Cash Back Day surpassed Adobe’s prediction for November 7, garnering nearly $2 billion in sales and making it the third-biggest sales driver for retailers so far this month.

As for where consumers are heading for Cyber Weekend shopping, many shoppers will start and finish on their mobile devices:

• 86% plan to research items for holiday gifts on smartphones.
• 85% search for deals on smartphones.
• 83% will complete a purchase on mobile devices.

“While the pace at which consumers feel comfortable and confident to shop on mobile rises, we shouldn’t dismiss brick-and-mortar stores’ importance as we head into December,” says Skupin. “Mobile promotions have a major influence on in-store purchases. Retailers who have mastered the best digital and physical shopping experiences are poised to win the season. The shopping journey is complex and giving shoppers consistent experiences across digital and physical properties is key, especially as it relates to availability of deals across online, mobile and in-store.”

Physical stores still draw shoppers:

• 80% of consumers plan to go into a physical store to shop for holiday gifts during the month of December, visiting a brick-and-mortar store an average of five times.
• Consumers are open to a brick-and-click hybrid experience: Most (54%) Americans say online shopping they do for BOPIS purchases gives them opportunity to search for additional deals or discounts.

View the full RetailMeNot holiday insights experience here.

Methodology
A 10-minute online holiday survey was fielded between Monday, October 14, 2019, and Friday, October 18, 2019. During this time, 1,079 interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of Americans over the age of 18. Key groups of interest were examined in this analysis, including gender, generation, and region.