Originally Published by PwC.
Glad tidings of shopping joy
PwC’s 2018 Holiday Outlook report reveals findings from our national survey of 2,071 consumers, offering details about where and when consumers will shop, what drives their purchasing decisions, their holiday travel and movie-going plans and how retailers are preparing for the season.
Economic growth in 2018 is poised to be the strongest since 2005, which translates into positive consumer sentiment, thus stimulating further growth and signaling a strong holiday shopping season.
Breaking with tradition: Shopping on Thanksgiving Day
More than 70% of our survey respondents said they plan to shop on Thanksgiving compared to a scant 40% in 2016.
Thanksgiving Day has become a robust shopping day in recent years, eclipsing the importance of Black Friday as a revenue milestone for retailers. In fact, Black Friday has gradually morphed into Black November, as consumers who used to concentrate their shopping on that pivotal day-after-Thanksgiving now spread their shopping over the holiday week—and beyond.
Bucking the trend toward Thanksgiving Day shopping are members of the Greatest Generation: Almost half said they will not shop on the holiday. Their sentiments are shared by nearly 100 prominent retailers, who will keep their brick-and-mortar stores closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Online shopping has continued to gain favor as the shopping channel of choice, both at Thanksgiving and on Black Friday.
Download the 2018 Holiday Outlook Report.
