What retailers need to know to capture holiday shoppers on Black Friday
By Rieva Lesonsky
In recent years Black Friday sales have been decreasing—likely due, in large part, to people staying home, avoiding the crowds and ordering online (I know that’s what I did last year). However, new research from Mintel reveals consumers ages 18-22 are the most likely to say they like to shop in stores on Black Friday. Does that surprise you? It did me.
Mintel cautions this doesn’t mean shoppers won’t be online on Cyber Monday—30% of consumers say they like to shop online on that day.
What are Black Friday shoppers looking for? Mintel reports 45% prefer shopping where the best deals are, whether in-store or online; 40% look online for promotions; and 34% set a budget.
There’s also some good news for small retailers in the Mintel report: 28% of shoppers say that during the holiday season, they visit retailers they normally don’t shop at, and 38% plan to shop in smaller clothing stores.
There’s going to be a lot of online shopping this year as well. Mintel reports 84% of consumers plan to shop online for the holidays. In addition, 26% say they research items online before buying them in-store and 15% say they usually plan to shop more in stores, but end up shopping online instead.
To capture these holiday shoppers, make sure your website is easy to navigate, spend some money on local search optimization and advertising, and make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
