Survey: 135 Million Americans May Go Shopping This Weekend

Most Plan To Go Shopping On Black Friday

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AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Around 135 million people around the country could hit the mall, local shops or online retailers this holiday weekend, based on the findings of a recent survey by the National Retail Federation.

About 73 percent of respondents who said they would shop or were considering it said they planned to shop on Black Friday, marking an increase of about 5 percent from last year.

Kathy Allen, a federation spokeswoman, said most people will be shopping at big box stores.

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“Sporting goods and electronic stores and other specialty stores are also high on the list of consumer shopping locations for Thanksgiving weekend, in addition to big box stores and department stores,” said Allen.

This was also the first year the National Retail Federation asked people whether they planned to shop online for Cyber Monday. About 34 percent of respondents said they would be surfing the web for holiday savings, while 45.6 percent said they would maybe participate.

“Online and mobile shopping is something that has completely changed how consumers get the deals they want,” said Allen.

The survey found close to 90 percent of people planning to buy online are people between 18 and 34 years old.

In addition, the survey found that around 22 percent of people who said they planned to shop on Saturday said they planned to buy local, marking the relatively new “Small Business Saturday.”

Allen said people spent around $400 on average on last year’s post-Thanksgiving weekend. She said toys, clothing, sporting goods and electronics tended to top shoppers’ lists.

The survey was conducted for the federation by Prosper Insights & Analytics, based in Ohio. It polled 7,172 consumers from across the U.S. between Nov. 3 and Nov. 10.

The margin of error for the overall survey was plus or minus 1.2 percent. That margin is larger for certain subgroups mentioned above, like those who plan on shopping online for Cyber Monday or those who plan to shop on Saturday.