On Tuesday, December 3, the National Retail Federation (NRF) in the United States released data showing that approximately 197 million Americans went shopping from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, during the five-day period.
According to Reuters, the number of shoppers surpassed the NRF’s expected 183.4 million people, but it was still lower than the 200 million shoppers in 2023.
The NRF’s report revealed that during this extended weekend, consumers spent an average of $235, which is $8 higher than in 2023. The most popular gifts purchased were clothing and accessories, followed by toys and personal care products.
These data indicate that retailers successfully tackled the challenge of a shortened shopping window this year and attracted price-conscious shoppers through significant discounts.
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay stated, “Despite the shorter shopping period this year and the early launch of numerous promotions by retailers, the number of shoppers over the past weekend exceeded expectations.”
Considering that there are only 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, NRF anticipates that the pace of holiday sales growth will be the slowest.
The report on Tuesday highlighted that Black Friday (November 29) was the most popular day of the Thanksgiving weekend, with approximately 81.7 million consumers shopping in stores and roughly 87.3 million shoppers making purchases online.
Data from Mastercard SpendingPulse indicated a substantial 14.6% surge in e-commerce sales on Black Friday in the United States, while in-store sales saw a modest 0.7% increase compared to last year.
More and more customers are opting to shop on their mobile phones and laptops rather than in physical stores, encouraging U.S. retailers to actively promote and offer discounts on their websites and mobile applications.