Survey: Who is most likely to shop on Black Friday

WASHINGTON — Wondering who consumers will fight for Black Friday
sales? According to a new study, it’s mostly likely to be a millennial.

More than half of millennials, 54 percent, are expected to shop on Black
Friday, according to a Bankrate survey released Wednesday. That’s more than any other
age group. Millenials are typically those between 18 and 29 years
old.

Of consumers between 30 and 49, 45 percent planned to shop on Black Friday.
Thirty-five percent of consumers ages 50 to 64 wanted to brave the Black
Friday experience and 23 percent of those 65 and older had the same plans.

Also, millennials take the cake when it comes to Cyber Monday shopping, but by
a smaller margin.

Bankrate asked 1,000 U.S. residents about their Black Friday and Cyber Monday
shopping plans. Bankrate conducted the phone survey between Oct. 30 and Nov.
2.

Pam Quintiliano, a retail analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, says
millennials’ Black Friday shopping trend could because they generally have
less responsibility than other age groups.

“It’s easy to go out there when you’re not worried about the mortgage,”
Quintiliano said in a news release.

Still, she admits that while younger consumers are expected to turn out, they
aren’t expected to shell out.

“That generation is much smarter … in terms of their purchasing power,”
Quintiliano said in the release. “They’re very savvy about how to research to
get the most bang for your buck.”

Although millennials are 13 percentage points more likely to set foot in a
store on Black Friday than older adults, don’t expect them to spend much.

Twenty-eight percent of younger consumers said they would spend between $101
and $250 in total on Black Friday.

Overall, Black Friday shoppers anticipate spending an average of $399 per
shopper.

Just 28 percent of Americans plan to shop in a store on Black Friday,
Bankrate’s survey found. Including online shoppers, 40 percent of Americans
expect to do some holiday shopping on Black Friday.

The number of Black Friday shoppers can be attributed to the availability
of good deals throughout November and December.

“Consumers are well-aware that deep discounts will be offered throughout the
holiday shopping season,” Bankrate.com analyst Jeanine Skowronski said in a
news release. “They don’t necessarily need to brave the Black Friday crowds to
score them.”

The Bankrate survey had a sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage
points.

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