“Retailers learned this weekend that men are willing to get out of bed for a good deal,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “While women seemed to take a more casual approach to Black Friday shopping, men went out on the hunt and then went back home to bed.”
Though discounters were still the most popular shopping destination, traffic dropped substantially from last year (49.6 percent vs. 60.7 percent in 2005).
Traditional department stores were also a popular destination (38.8 percent) as well as specialty retailers like clothing and toy stores (37.5 percent). One-fourth of consumers (23.0 percent) also took advantage of some retailers' web-only specials this weekend.
The most popular items purchased were clothing or clothing accessories (41.4 percent) as well as books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games (41.4 percent).
Also on many Christmas lists were consumer electronics or computer-related accessories (33.3 percent) as well as toys (28.3 percent), gift cards/gift certificates (17.6 percent) and home décor or home-related furnishings (17.4 percent).
As of Sunday, November 26, the average person has completed 35.6 percent of their holiday shopping, showing no change from last year. Only one in 12 consumers (8.6 percent) has finished their holiday shopping.
NRF continues to project that holiday sales will rise 5.0 percent this year to $457.4 billion.
National Retail Federation
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