We asked Millennials and teens who are planning to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday this year what exactly they plan to buy, and we’ve got their 17 top responses…
Black Friday mania is shifting as young consumers move their holiday deal shopping online, but it could still be the biggest shopping day of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, 59% of consumers will be shopping during the Thanksgiving holiday, but Millennials will reportedly be the most ‘avid shoppers,’ with 77% of 18-24-year-olds and 76% of 25-34-year-olds planning to hit the stores. (Our data shows that 63% of 13-34-year-olds tell us they plan to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.) Foursquare is predicting that big-box dollar stores will experience the biggest gains, but also predicts an overall drop in foot traffic. Meanwhile, Walmart is turning Cyber Monday into Cyber Week to keep up with Millennials’ online holiday shopping habits. The event will launch right after Black Friday and continue into Cyber Monday when a new batch of deals will be revealed. To compete with Amazon, the retailer has almost tripled their online offerings, including products from brands like Michael Kors, Ray-Ban, and UGG that cannot be found in stores.
With over six in ten 13-34-year-olds telling us they plan to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday this year, we dug into their plans even further, asking “What specific item are planning to buy on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?”* Here are their top 17 responses:
*These were open-end response questions to allow us to capture the full range of items young consumers plan to buy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As with any qualitative question, the responses include those that are top of mind and those that are most wanted. The lists are ordered according to number of responses received, and alphabetically when ties occurred.
What Will They Be Buying Black Fri & Cyber Mon?
13-34-year-olds
Clothing / Accessories
Deal Shopping
Laptop / Computer
TV
Movies / TV shows / Books
Phone
Shoes
Tablet
Housewares
Gadgets / Electronics
Gaming Console
Toys / Games
Gifts
Beauty
Fitness tracker
Sports / Recreation
Video Games
Clothes / accessories top the ranking of items they’re planning to shop for this coming weekend, but many young consumers will be headed online or into stores in search of whatever deals they can find, without specific products in mind. One 22-year-old male tells us he’ll be shopping for, “Anything I find a good sale on, I tend to look at the general price of all products months prior to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.” Another 26-year-old male noted that of the things on his wishlist, he’ll “get whatever has the best deal,” while an 18-year-old female says she’s planning to get “Anything on Amazon.” Incidentally, Amazon tops the lists of stores 13-34-year-olds are planning to shop on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When we look at the top items they plan to buy by age and gender, 18-34-year-olds are the most likely to say that general deal shopping is their Black Friday/Cyber Monday approach:
In addition to Millennials being more likely than teens to random deal shop this weekend, they’re also more likely to be shopping for a TV and movies / TV shows / books, while younger consumers are more likely to say they want to buy gaming consoles and shoes. Meanwhile, males are more likely to be shopping for TVs and phones than females, who are more likely than males to be hunting for housewares and shoes.
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