Black Friday Losing Some Appeal With Shoppers

Black Friday may be losing some of its appeal with holiday shoppers.

More than half (55%) of the respondents in Accenture’s 13th Annual Holiday Shopping Survey said they were less inclined to shop on Black Friday this year than they were last year. Even more (58%) said they would shy away from Thanksgiving Day shopping to spend time with their families. Shoppers also said they are able to find equally good deals outside of Thanksgiving weekend.

As the holiday season quickly approaches, Americans seem to be looking to physical stores for gift inspiration. The survey found that shoppers expect to do half of their gift shopping in stores and malls. Respondents also said if they found a product they liked in store, they were significantly more likely to buy it there than to look for a better price online.

Most shoppers (82%) said lower in-store prices would get them to buy a product in person instead of online. Discounts and special offers were a close second, with 77% saying that was a top factor in where they make their purchases.

Accenture found consumers plan to spend an average of $637 this holiday season. This aligns with a similar study from Splitit, which showed 56% of shoppers plan to spend under $500, and 27% plan to spend between $500 and $1,000.

For shoppers who do plan to buy online, “porch piracy” is a strong concern. This is the term for package theft, which increases shortly before the holidays. Nearly three out of ten shoppers (29%) make sure to schedule deliveries for time when they are home, or use an app to carefully track their shipments. Another 21% say they are opting to pick up items in the store instead of having them delivered to their homes as a way to mitigate the risk of package theft.