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Internet Travel Monitor - Technolgy Bits
November 21, 2007
Black Friday Shoppers Prepare Online
NEW YORK, NY – The bargain-hunters will be out early this year.
The Friday after Thanksgiving has always meant a stack of newspaper inserts to promote sales and get shoppers into stores. Now shoppers are also researching Black Friday sites, which publish advanced copies of retail circulars.
This wealth of information has pumped up Black Friday shoppers to spend more than the average consumer. Those who plan to shop on the day after Thanksgiving say they will spend an average of $790 on holiday purchases this year, according to Maritz Research. That compares with $637 for all consumers.
"It's no secret that Black Friday shoppers are looking for discounts, and retailers have already started slashing prices — earlier than ever before," said Gloria Park Bartolone, vice president at Maritz, in a statement.
The $637 in holiday spending is down 10% from 2006. One-quarter of respondents said they would spend less this year, and one-half of them said it was because they had less money to spend.
More than one-third of US consumers (37%) said they planned to shop on the day after Thanksgiving, up from 34% who said so in 2006.
Black Friday sites took off last year. The leading site, Black Friday Ads, saw a 44% market share of visitor traffic for the week ended November 25, 2006, according to Hitwise.
The share of Internet searches for the term “Black Friday” increased 348%, when comparing the four weeks ended November 25, 2006 to the four weeks ended November 26, 2005.
Copyright 2007 eMarketer Inc. All rights
reserved. From http://www.emarketer.com.
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