Most Americans Won't Shop on Either Black Friday or Cyber Monday

Press release from the issuing company

Thursday, November 20th, 2014

Most Americans won't shop on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday this year, according to a new Bankrate.com report. Millennials are the most likely to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

In fact, contrary to their tech-savvy reputation, 18-29 year-olds are more likely to shop in stores on Black Friday than online. Millennials are 13 percentage points more likely to set foot in a store on Black Friday than older adults. They are also the most likely to shop online on both days, but by a smaller margin.

Just 28% of Americans plan to shop in a store on Black Friday. Including online shoppers, 40% of Americans expect to do some holiday shopping on Black Friday. They anticipate spending an average of $399 per shopper, with a median of $200. 

"Consumers are well-aware that deep discounts will be offered throughout the holiday shopping season," said Bankrate.com analyst Jeanine Skowronski. "They don't necessarily need to brave the Black Friday crowds to score them."

Only one in four Americans anticipate making an online purchase on Cyber Monday. The average planned expenditure is slightly lower than on Black Friday ($361); the $200 median is the same. Men are marginally more likely to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday than women.

38% of in-store Black Friday shoppers say they will pay with cash, 34% plan to use debit cards and 24% are likely to use credit cards.

For online purchases on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 46% expect to pay with credit cards and 43% expect to pay with debit cards.

"Online shopping is one of the riskiest ways to use a debit card," Skowronski warned. "Credit cards offer better consumer protections. This is especially important given all of the data breaches that have occurred over the past couple of years."

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/smart-spending/is-black-friday-dead.aspx