Seventy-one percent of consumers believe retailers will offer the best holiday deals during Thanksgiving weekend, PriceGrabber® survey finds

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As Thanksgiving weekend fast approaches, one of the largest shopping periods of the year including the notorious Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consumers are largely focused on one major theme this holiday season – deals, deals and more deals. PriceGrabber^® just released results from its third winter holiday shopping survey, revealing that 71 percent of consumers believe that retailers offer better deals during Thanksgiving weekend than they do during the rest of the winter holiday shopping season, up from 58 percent in 2011. Conducted from Oct. 1 to Oct. 24, 2012, the survey includes responses from 4,958 U.S. online shopping consumers.

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When consumers who indicated that the best deals can be found over the Thanksgiving weekend were asked which days retailers offer the best prices (respondents could select as many choices as they liked), 71 percent said Black Friday (Nov. 23), down from 80 percent in 2011 and 86 percent in 2010, and 41 percent said Cyber Monday (Nov. 26), up from 37 percent last year and 33 percent in 2010.

Black Friday most popular day to shop on Thanksgiving weekend overall

When asked which days they plan to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend (respondents could select as many choices as they liked), 42 percent of consumers said Black Friday (Nov. 23), followed by 38 percent who said Cyber Monday (Nov. 26); 21 percent indicated Saturday (Nov. 24), 13 percent selected Sunday (Nov. 25), and 10 percent said Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22).

Consumers cite best prices and tradition as top reasons to shop on Black Friday

Consumers' enthusiasm for shopping on Black Friday, the most storied shopping day of the year, is not a myth. When consumers planning to shop on Black Friday were asked to select all of the reasons why they planned to do so, 70 percent said that they can find the best prices on that day. Thirty-three percent noted that they plan to shop on Black Friday because it is a tradition with family and friends; 22 percent indicated they have the day off from work and enjoy shopping; and 7 percent said they like the thrill of fighting the crowds.

"Shoppers are eager to find deals this holiday season as they continue to keep a tight grip on their purse strings. Our survey data reveals that consumers believe some of the best prices will be offered over the Thanksgiving weekend, especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday," said Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics of PriceGrabber.com. "While Black Friday remains a popular day for in-store shopping, we have seen a steady growth in online shopping on Cyber Monday. We expect this trend to continue as shoppers harness the power of the Internet to find the best pricing and take advantage of free shipping and other retailer incentives."

Shoppers to take advantage of Black Friday extended store hours

Black Friday shoppers are once again anxious to get to stores early this year to find the best deals and get their hands on the perfect holiday gift. According to the PriceGrabber's survey, 64 percent of Black Friday Shoppers plan to take advantage of extended store hours to start shopping even earlier this year. Twenty-four percent plan to start shopping in stores on Black Friday between midnight and 4:00 a.m.; 27 percent indicated they will start shopping between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.; and 26 percent plan to shop between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and noon. Fourteen percent indicated they plan to shop between noon and 10:00 p.m. and 9 percent of consumers indicated that they will start shopping at 10:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening to prepare for Black Friday sales if stores are open.

Clothing, computers and consumer electronics expected to be Black Friday's most popular gifts

According to PriceGrabber's survey, consumers cite clothing, consumer electronics and computers as the top gift purchases on Black Friday. Of the consumers who indicated that they will shop on Black Friday (respondents could select as many choices as they liked), 56 percent said they will purchase clothing as gifts. This was followed by 48 percent who said they will purchase consumer electronics; another 48 percent who said they will buy computers, laptops, tablets or related equipment; 37 percent who said they will purchase books, CDs, DVDs or video games; 32 percent who said they will purchase toys; and another 32 percent who said they will purchase shoes.

Other items shoppers will purchase this holiday season include jewelry and watches, gift cards, sporting goods, appliances, beauty, cosmetics and spa packages, and food or candy.

To view all of PriceGrabber's 2012 holiday shopping press releases, visit:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/about.php?about=press

Infographics from PriceGrabber's Winter Holiday Shopping Surveys
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About PriceGrabber.com^®

PriceGrabber is a leading online shopping site with more than 23 million unique shoppers monthly. At PriceGrabber, savvy shoppers can instantly find and compare over 80 million products and services across 25 categories with more than 11,000 merchants. Compare products side by side to find the right retailers at the best prices within popular categories, such as Digital Cameras, TVs, Electronics, Computers, Clothing, Books, and more. PriceGrabber provides shoppers with the right product from the right merchant at the best price anytime, anywhere. Visit us at http://www.pricegrabber.com.

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