U.S. shoppers spent about 14% less on holiday purchases from Black Friday through Cyber Monday as gains in online customers were offset by far fewer people visiting stores during the coronavirus pandemic.
People spent an average of just under $312 on holiday-related purchases, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights. That was lower than the approximately $362 a year ago. but similar to 2018, according to the research.
In-store shoppers fell 37% from a year earlier on Black Friday, while online shoppers on that day rose 8% and topped 100 million, the survey said. On Thanksgiving, in-store shoppers declined 55%. Many stores were also closed on Thanksgiving Day this year.
“We knew the pandemic was going to impact in-store foot traffic and we anticipated that consumers would shift some of their shopping behavior online and we certainly saw that,” NRF President and Chief Executive Matthew Shay said on a call Tuesday to discuss the results.
A total of 186.4 million people shopped either online or in stores over the weekend, down from 189.6 million a year earlier. However, the number of shoppers in 2020 was higher than 2018, when total shoppers for the weekend were 165.8 million.
