Over 197 million Americans participated in the five-day Thanksgiving weekend shopping extravaganza, surpassing the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) prediction of 183.4 million shoppers. Although slightly lower than the record-breaking 200 million shoppers in 2023, NRF reported that consumers spent an average of $235 on gifts, with top purchases including apparel, toys and personal care items.
According to NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay who spoke with Reuters: “Despite a shorter shopping period this year and numerous early sales promotions from retailers, we were pleasantly surprised by the high number of shoppers during this past weekend.”
Black Friday was once again crowned as the most popular day for holiday shopping with a whopping total of 81.7 million in-store shoppers and another impressive figure of 87.3 million online buyers recorded by NRF. The organization also noted that over a record-breaking number of consumers -126 million- chose to shop in-person during these five days compared to last year’s count at only121.4million; indicating that people still value traditional holiday experiences and social interactions.
Cyber Monday came second place as it attracted approximately64 .4million online customers looking for great deals on their favorite products or services.
