Thousands of Southern Californians are expected to head to malls today to continue the tradition of searching for Black Friday bargains on the customary start of the Christmas shopping season.
The Thanksgiving Weekend Expectations survey conducted for the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, found that among the 60.1 percent who said they would or might go shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, 68.2 percent said they would shop on Black Friday, translating to
95.51 million shoppers, far outpacing Saturday (42.9 percent, 60.04 million), Sunday (21.6 percent, 30.28 million) and Thanksgiving (18.3 percent, 25.59 million).
The survey of 6,593 customers conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics between Nov. 3-10 has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.
Retailers will need to give shoppers reasons to eschew shifting to a “wait-and-see mentality” on Black Friday, according to National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay.
“Consumers today want more than just discounts they’ve been showered with since the start of the recession; they want exclusive offerings and a good reason to spend their discretionary budgets,” Shay said.
“We are positive retailers have a few tricks up their sleeve that will draw the customers to their stores and websites, deciding deals are worth it after all.”
