Holiday shopping trends are are on track to make a comeback this year, with 158.3M people (nearly 2M more people than last year) expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. That's according to the latest report from the National Retail Federation, which estimates consumers will shell out an average $997.73 on holiday sales during November and December. At those levels, it would mean a growth rate of between 8.5% and 10.5% over 2020 to a total of $843.4B-$859B, setting records for both the expansion and total amount spent.
By the numbers: 75% of American adults will conduct their e-commerce through big retailers like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Walmart (NYSE:WMT), which will be similar to or increase relative to the 2020 holiday season. However, some still prefer brick-and-mortar for the holidays. Among those shopping on Thanksgiving Day, 65% are likely to do so in stores, up from 50% last year, when COVID-19 concerns worries kept many people at home. On Black Friday, 64% are likely to shop in stores, up from 51% last year.
"Pandemic-related supply chain disruptions have caused shortages of merchandise and most of this year's inflationary pressure," NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz declared. "With the prospect of consumers seeking to shop early, inventories may be pulled down sooner and shortages may develop in the later weeks of the shopping season. However, if retailers can keep merchandise on the shelves and merchandise arrives before Christmas, it could be a stellar holiday sales season."
Shopping carts: Apparel continued to top the NRF list, expected to be scooped up by 53% of shoppers, followed by gift cards at 46%, toys at 39%, books/music/movies/video games at 35% and food/candy at 31% as the top five categories.