From the PMA Offers and Rewards Council – Black Friday and Cyber Monday Expectations and Stats

The Performance Marketing Association’s Offers and Rewards Council Industry Champion Member Offers.com last week released a survey that nearly 90 percent of online shoppers will look for coupons and sales online before making a purchase this season.

More than one-third of Americans plan to shop online on Black Friday, according to the survey by IPSOS on behalf of Offers.com. Of those shopping on Black Friday, nearly three-quarters plan to shop online.

Discounts always have driven holiday spending, but consumers are changing the game by turning online more and more to shop and find the best deals.

The study underscores the large role that coupon and deal sites play in the online marketing space and the need for the Offers and Rewards Council to continue to work to create and impart a deeper understanding of the value of working with loyalty and offer publisher for merchants.  The Offers and Rewards Council is currently working on an Industry Standards document for coupon use in affiliate marketing. Be part of the effort to shape future by joining the Offers and Rewards Council. Current contributors include Mike Allen of Shopping Bargains, Evan Labb of Saving.com, Kevin Joyce from Brad’s Deals, and Tricia Meyer of Sunshine Rewards.com. Join or find out more about the Offers and Rewards Council.

https://thepma.org/pma-councils/pma-offers-and-rewards-council/

 Other significant findings from the Offers.com study include:

Compared to Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, Black Friday remains the most popular shopping day in the United States, with 53 percent of the adult population saying they plan to shop this day.

• For 2014, 20 percent plan to shop primarily online on Black Friday.
• This year, 15 percent plan to shop primarily in stores, and an additional 18 percent plan to shop both online and in stores.

In recent years many stores have extended their holiday shopping hours into Thanksgiving, which favors the 49 percent of U.S. consumers who plan to shop that day. Despite this trend, more people plan to shop online than in-store on Thanksgiving.

• This year, 16 percent will shop primarily online on Thanksgiving.
• An additional 20 percent will shop both online and in stores, and 13% will shop primarily in stores.

Compared to Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Cyber Monday is the most popular holiday for online shopping. Nearly half (47 percent) of Americans plan to shop online on Cyber Monday.

• Though 61 percent of people with children in the household plan to shop online, only 41 percent of those without children plan to shop online on Cyber Monday.
• Millennials will shop online more than any other age group on Cyber Monday. Nearly 60 percent of those aged 18 to 34 plan to shop online that day.

As more consumers turn to the Internet to fulfill their holiday shopping needs, mobile use is becoming more prominent. About 44 percent of U.S. consumers plan to use their mobile devices when holiday shopping.

• Millennials are leading this trend. Of those aged 18 to 34, 69 percent plan to use their phones when holiday shopping.
• Nearly one-third (30 percent) of Americans will use their mobile phones to look for coupons and deals when holiday shopping. This trumps the number of mobile users who say that they will use it for other activities, such as making purchases (19 percent), checking product reviews (22 percent), and comparing products at different stores (24 percent).

The entire study (Offers.com’s 2014 Holiday Shopping Survey results) can be found here: http://ofrs.co/1y4ideV