Record 200.4 million people shopped between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday

With many retailers closed on Thanksgiving, Black Friday sales events have been repeating how they started — with caffeine-fueled customers lining up in the early hours to snag doorbuster deals, rather than leaving the turkey and stuffing early to start their holiday shopping.

At Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, not opening the doors until Friday gave the event a more traditional feel, said Stacey Keating, spokesperson for CBL Properties, which operates Westmoreland and Monroeville malls.

“Malls have been closed on Thanksgiving for the last five or six years,” Keating said. “With all those retailers reopening bright and early on Black Friday, it just had a more traditional atmosphere.”

The National Retail Federation found that consumers reported, on average, 55% of their Thanksgiving weekend purchases were specifically driven by sales and promotions, up from 52% in 2022. Another 31% said a limited-time sale or promotion convinced them to make a purchase they were hesitant about, up from 29% last year.

Overall, a record 200.4 million consumers shopped over the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, surpassing last year’s record of 196.7 million, according to the trade association. The figures surpassed NRF’s initial expectations of 182 million shoppers.

“The five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday represents some of the busiest shopping days of the year and reflects the continued resilience of consumers and strength of the economy,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Shoppers turned out as stores offered timed sales and gift cards to lure in crowds.

“Those types of things really do drive traffic,” Keating said. “It’s been a trend for the last several years that retailers start their sales prior to Black Friday. But we did see a lot of time-sensitive in-store promotions that you could only get by visiting the store either that morning, throughout the day or the weekend.”

Most retailers across the country are still crunching the numbers. Keating said figures for Westmoreland and Monroeville malls won’t be ready until next week.

But early numbers show people were willing to show up for a good deal — either in person or online.

Still, a growing number of customers opted to do their shopping from a laptop or smartphone.

Online shoppers totaled 134.2 million, up from 130.2 million last year, NRF found, while 121.4 million people visited physical retail locations over the weekend, slightly less than last year’s figure of 122.7 million.

Even as shoppers turned out for the weekend, Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst for Bankrate, noted consumers seem to be more “frugal” this holiday season as inflation and higher interest rates take a toll.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Rossman pointed out “the average amount spent per shopper fell about 1% from $325 last year to $321 this year.

“This continues a sluggish start to the holiday shopping season.”

Rossman expects that environment will drive retailers to offer more promotions.

“This looks like the best holiday season for deals in many years,” Rossman said. “An improved supply chain and weaker consumer demand have led retailers to cut prices early and often. I feel like most people are expecting at least a 25% to 30% discount on everything they buy right now.”