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Black Friday in the eyes of Americans

Every year, thousands of sale lovers look forward to the end of November. This is when Black Friday, the biggest shopping craze of the year, takes place. Retailers have been preparing for months to finally, on 29th November, unveil the best promotions and discounts for their clients.

Originally, Black Friday used to be known only in the United States. However, in the last few years, the event has spread to other continents, including our country. Americans have welcomed with opened arms the opportunity to participate in huge sales and make great savings.

In which part of the United States is Black Friday the most popular? What are the differences in attitudes toward sales among men and women? How much money are Americans willing to spend and on which products? Where and when do American consumers shop? Picodi.com analysts look closer into the Black Friday phenomenon and answer these questions.

The king of all sales

Black Friday is not the only shopping holiday in November. Although still not as prominent in the US, in many countries Singles’ Day is celebrated on November 11th. Named after the multiple “one” numbers in the date, representing people who are single, Singles’ Day originated in China. The high discounts offered on that day attract huge crowds, especially in Asia.

The survey conducted by Picodi.com shows that Black Friday clearly rules in the US. Among respondents who took part in one of November shopping holidays, 87 per cent participated in Black Friday sales. 11 per cent took advantage of both Black Friday and Singles’ Day. Merely 2 per cent answered that they took part in Singles’ Day only.

Male versus female shoppers

Black Friday sales are popular among both male and female citizens of the United States. As much as 63 per cent of female respondents are going to take part in Black Friday — it is 26 percentage points less than male shoppers.

Women purchase more products: 5.2 in comparison with 3 bought by men. Paradoxically, men spend more money than women on Black Friday. An average woman is willing to spend around $421, while an average man around $582.

The reason behind such a difference may be the fact that on Black Friday a top category of products bought by men is electronics. Other than that, both male and female shoppers chose clothing and shoes as their top purchases. What is more, women spend 41 per cent more time on shopping compared to men.

Black Friday is all about the promotions. In this case as well, men and women have separate preferences. The surveyed women choose a discount coupon or code as their favourite type of promotion. The second place takes a lower discount on an entire range of products, and a higher discount on selected products is in the third place. Likewise, men’s favourite promotion is a discount coupon. It is followed by a higher discount on selected products and then a lower discount on an entire range of products.

No time to lose

The popularity of online shopping is rising year after year, especially because of events such as Black Friday or Singles’ Day. One-third of the surveyed Americans (34 per cent) are going to shop online on Black Friday. 39 per cent decided to shop in both online and offline stores. 27 per cent are going to shop exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores.

One of the reasons against shopping in malls is having to wait in lines. Although nowadays in the US the situation is not as extreme, special tutorials are created on how to endure the neverending queuing on Black Friday. Nevertheless, not everyone is willing to waste their time standing in line. Among American respondents, as much as 32 per cent of women and 20 per cent of men declare that they would rather give up on purchasing a product than wait in line.

Those who decide to place orders online do not have to worry about queues and can shop around-the-clock. On the American Internet, peaks of shopping activity fall at midnight and 2 PM. Consumers make purchases at home, during the commute, or even at work — 57 per cent of surveyed Americans admitted that they buy while working.

Methodology

The report is based on archival statistical data of the Picodi.com platform, as well as a survey conducted on behalf of Picodi.com between 9-20 October 2019.

Public Use

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Learn about Black Friday in other parts of the world