Shoppers Will Spend 50 Percent Of Their Holiday Budget During Thanksgiving Sales This Year

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 60 percent of consumers will start holiday shopping on Black Friday and most will spend more than 50 percent of their holiday budget over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to new research by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, Sponsored by KPMG.

"This data confirms that new trends continue to change the holiday shopping experience for both consumers and retailers. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become as much a part of the Thanksgiving holiday as watching football and eating leftovers," said Alton Adams, advisory principal with KPMG LLP. "The intensity of Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday shopping, coupled with a rise in mobile and online sales, will force retailers to be prepared for the holiday weekend with a strategic multi-channel approach to seamlessly meet the needs of the customer."

Most consumers (63 percent) said they will use a combination of online shopping and in-store shopping to complete their list, and more than 40 percent said they would start shopping before noon. A mere 6.2 percent of respondents said they absolutely would not shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Other insights included what consumers plan to purchase, both as gifts and for themselves. The survey found that the only item people are planning to buy more for themselves, rather than others, is electronics. The vast majority (80 percent) said their overall holiday spending this year would either be the same or less, as compared to 2012.

"Black Friday is the undisputed busiest shopping day of the year for retail. Thus, it made perfect sense for the institute to examine how consumers were planning to approach this year's sales," said Kurt Carlson, director of the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, Sponsored by KPMG. "What we discovered is that consumers are indeed looking forward to Black Friday, so much so that they are planning to spend half of their holiday shopping budget during this short time frame. One way to view this is that consumers expect to get half of their holiday shopping out of the way before December begins. And that's just the beginning of the interesting insights we discovered." 

The 2013 Thanksgiving Black Friday Survey was conducted in the first week of November to understand how consumers plan to shop on and around the Thanksgiving holiday. The respondents were drawn from an online sample of 1020 U.S. consumers. To download the complete survey, visit the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, Sponsored by KPMG.

About the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, Sponsored by KPMG 
The Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, Sponsored by KPMG, develops innovative, ground-breaking research to illuminate the challenges and opportunities of understanding and marketing to consumers. Combining the academic expertise at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and the deep understanding of the marketplace found at KPMG, the institute seeks to impact business practice and improve consumer decision-making. For more information or to read the latest research from the institute, visit http://consumerresearch.georgetown.edu.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.kpmg.com/us), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International's member firms have 152,000 professionals, including more than 8,600 partners, in 156 countries.

About Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business
Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business provides a transformational education through classroom and experiential learning, preparing students to graduate as principled leaders in service to business and society. Through numerous centers, initiatives, and partnerships, Georgetown McDonough seeks to create a meaningful impact on business practice through both research and teaching. All academic programs provide a global perspective, woven through the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in a way that is unique to Washington, D.C. – the nexus of world business and policy – and to Georgetown University's connections to global partner organizations and a world-wide alumni network. Founded in 1957, Georgetown McDonough is home to some 1,400 undergraduates, 1,000 MBA students, and 1,200 participants in executive degree and open enrollment programs. Learn more at http://msb.georgetown.edu. Follow us on Twitter @msbgu.

SOURCE KPMG LLP