PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Holiday sales have been going on since October, but many shoppers have their eyes on forthcoming Thanksgiving weekend deals to make some of their purchases. An industry analyst says Cyber Monday is projected to be the most popular day for shoppers this year.
“We found that 59% of U.S. adults are likely to buy something on Cyber Monday. That's ahead of Black Friday, which is 53%, and Small-Business Saturday, which was 50," said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst with Bankrate.com, who surveyed nearly 2,500 shoppers about their plans for the upcoming weekend.
With Thanksgiving arriving relatively late in November this year, Rossman says, shoppers got started early.
"Thanksgiving weekend is still a big deal for retail, but it’s not the kickoff that it used to be," he said.
“Half of holiday shoppers began making purchases before Oct. 31. … Retailers have really leaned into this trend with a lot of early promotions."
And shoppers are trending more mobile than ever. Rossman says more people this year are expected to use a cellphone than a computer to make online purchases.
"Some people get up early to hit the stores, but there are a lot of online deals on Black Friday, too. It's becoming harder to distinguish that from Cyber Monday other than just the day of the week."
Rossman says small businesses struggling from inflation could be in for some relief.
Despite the popularity of online shopping, Rossman says younger generations are more likely to take advantage of in-person deals on Small Business Saturday.
"It's actually Gen-Zers and Millennials who are the most likely to shop on Small Business Saturday. About [59%] in those age groups are planning to buy something, versus 46% of Gen-X and 40% of Boomers. This shows that in-person retail is not dead — I mean, not by any means."
For an added boost to your purchasing power, Rossman recommends stacking deals by applying credit card rewards to existing store sales.