Holiday Bargain Battles Begin

Showroom? Webroom? When it comes to Black Friday shopping strategies most folks do both. More than three-quarters (76%) of Americans plan to shop over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to a new survey from Deloitte. People surveyed plan to spend $400 between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, a slight uptick from last year's intentions to spend $369. But rather than choose between in-store and online, most shoppers will choose both.

Among survey respondents planning to shop over the upcoming holiday weekend:

• Shoppers expect to spend more than half (51%) of their budget online and 46% in physical stores. 

• Online and in-store will draw nearly equal amounts of traffic, as 84% of respondents plan to shop in-store over the holiday weekend and 87% plan to do so online. The majority (71%) feel they find comparable deals online and in stores between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday. 

• Nearly 8 in 10 (79%) plan to shop on Black Friday, either in stores or online. Deloitte's survey found that 69% plan to head to stores and 55% intend to shop online on Black Friday. 

• Cyber Monday is gearing up to drive significant e-commerce sales, with 74% of respondents planning to shop online on Cyber Monday. 

• Nearly two-thirds (63%) plan to “webroom” – look at items online, then purchase in the store, and 44% will “showroom” – go to the store to look at an item, then buy it online. 

• Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) say they won't be motivated to shop on Thanksgiving Day because it's important to spend time with family and friends, and 67% disagree with stores being open on Thanksgiving. Roughly 1 in 5 (22%) people plan to shop in stores on Thanksgiving Day. 

• Socializing is a primary motivator for spending time in retail stores, as 62% plan to shop in-store with family or friends over the weekend. 

• Small businesses may have reason to celebrate over the weekend, as 42% of respondents plan to shop the Saturday after Thanksgiving in support of local business. 

• Four in 10 (40%) people surveyed say they haven't started any of their holiday shopping yet. Nearly one-third (32%) of shoppers say they plan to spend more than they originally intended this holiday season. 

• Store traffic should remain fairly steady throughout the day on Black Friday, with a mix of early birds and more leisurely buyers. The midnight openings are expected to draw 14% of Black Friday shoppers, and about 1 in 5 Black Friday shoppers (19%) say they'll head to the stores at 5 or 6 a.m. The same number say they'll start shopping in stores at 10 a.m. or later, and 16% haven't even decided yet. 

“Holiday shopping often kicks in a little later during election years when the media is dominated by those ads rather than the early holiday promotional push,” said Rod Sides, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. retail, wholesale and distribution leader. “However, elections typically bear little impact on holiday spending, and this year should be no different. Consumer fundamentals are strong and retail sales have been healthy this fall.”

Sides added, “The vast majority of shoppers indicate they'll head both online and to the stores over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and nowadays, they really look at those experiences as one. While digital and physical tactics should work in concert, it's critical that retailers' digital influence fits specific purposes and shopping days this week. Before Thanksgiving, the experience should be informational and inspirational, to influence the consumer in the research phase. Black Friday requires nimble and feature-rich mobile formats while people browse reviews and compare information at the point of purchase. Cyber Monday is purely transactional, where features like prices, free shipping and online return policies move into focus.” 

For additional findings, view Deloitte's 2016 Pre-Thanksgiving Survey results here.

And just in case you aren't thankful for your day job, know that  Deloitte retail professionals will be live-Tweeting from stores and malls across the country from  Thanksgiving Day  through Cyber Monday,  Nov. 24-28, 2016. For those so included, you can follow the conversation @DeloitteCB #Holiday2016. It's one thing to ruin the holiday for employees by having them sell stuff..but tweet stuff? C'mon Deloitte! Where's your holiday spirit?