Dive Brief:

• Despite overall inflation concerns, a Deloitte survey of 1,200 adults found that consumers will spend $500 on average during the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a 12% bump from 2021.
• Just under half (48%) of shoppers are planning to use credit cards to pay for their holiday purchases, and over a third (37%) foresee using buy now, pay later services for their holiday spending, the survey found.
• Most respondents (87%) said they had already bought gifts this year while they were discounted.

Dive Insight:

Deloitte’s research indicates that shoppers across income levels are spending more during this holiday season but also relying more on financing. Consumers earning under $50,000 are planning to spend $320 in the period between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a 19% increase from last year. Shoppers with incomes of more than $100,000 plan to spend $650 during the same period, a 4% increase from last year. 

The report also noted that consumers across the board are relying more on credit cards this year. Half of low-income families plan to use credit cards to pay for their holiday purchases, up from 27% last year. The share of middle-income families who plan to use credit cards for their holiday purchases rose from 38% in 2021 to 45% this year. As for high-income earners, 49% are planning to use credit cards this year, up from 45% in 2021.

“With half of holiday budgets expected to be spent over the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, it’s a critical period for retailers. Consumers from every income level are looking to maximize their holiday budgets, therefore seeing value in the promotions set to last throughout the week,” Rod Sides, global leader of Deloitte Insights, said in a statement. “While Black Friday deals have traditionally been in-store, the event is becoming more channel-agnostic, with retailers offering comparable deals both in-store and online. Retailers who can differentiate themselves through return polices, warranties and other perks can entice consumers and result in a successful holiday season.”

An Adobe report released last month projected that shoppers will spend $11.2 billion on Cyber Monday, up 5.1% from 2021. But Black Friday online sales are slated to see a more modest growth at 1% year-over-year, according to that report.

How many consumers will shop on Cyber Monday and Black Friday remains to be seen. An October survey from JLL found that more than half (54.2%) of respondents are planning to shop on Black Friday, and 54.3% are shopping on Cyber Monday. However, a PwC survey earlier this month found that just 20% of shoppers are planning to shop Black Friday and only 17% of respondents are waiting until after Thanksgiving weekend to shop for the holidays.

PwC’s survey pointed to younger consumers using BNPL services this holiday season to stretch their budgets. Though 13% of survey respondents overall said they planned to use installment payment plans to pay for their gifts, 20% of millennial respondents said they will use these services.