Business & Tech

Discounts Expected to Lure Black Friday Shoppers to Malls, Stores

Top choices for shoppers are gift cards, clothes, toys and personal electronics.

Thousands of Southern Californians are expected to head to stores and malls for Black Friday, seeking to take advantage of discounted prices on the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season.

The holiday spending survey conducted for the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, found that among the 61.9 percent who said they would go shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, 69.1 percent said they would shop on Black Friday, translating to 97 million shoppers. That far outpaces Saturday (43.8 percent, 61 million) and Sunday (24.2 percent, 34 million).

"Savvy shoppers know that the biggest shopping weekend of the year means ever bigger savings and those with specific gifts to buy will definitely be out and about or online over the holiday weekend," said Pam Goodfellow, the consumer insights director of Prosper Insights and Analytics, which conducted the poll.

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"Though most will adhere to a very strict budget and will make thoughtful decisions about the gifts they purchase, it's evident that Americans are in the holiday spirit, despite their cautious approach to spending."

The survey of 6,201 customers between Nov. 1-7 has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points.

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The top reason for shopping on Black Friday are the discounts. The Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey found that among the 55 percent who said they would shop on Black Friday, 32 percent said their primary motivation was to take advantage of "doorbuster" deals.

The survey found that the top choices on consumers' shopping lists are gift cards (56 percent), apparel (54 percent), toys (44 percent) and personal electronics (27 percent).

The online survey of 500 customers was conducted in September.

The National Retail Federation's Top Toys survey found that boys' top toy choices are Legos; video games; cars and trucks; Hot Wheels cars; the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 video game systems; Skylander video games; remote- controlled vehicles and action figures. Bicycles and Teenage Mutant Nija Turtles figures tied for 10th.

The top girls' choices are Barbie dolls, followed by dolls in general and Monster High dolls. Disney princesses merchandise and iPads and tablet computers tied for fourth. American Girl dolls and Lalaloopsy dolls tied for sixth, followed by Furby electronic robotic toys; Lego and Lego Friends and Elmo and Big Hugs Elmo dolls.

"Timeless, classic toys will always resonate with children, but tablets and smartphones continue to steal more attention from today's kids, leaving mom and dad with no option but to look for ways to get their children their own items — and leave theirs along," Goodfellow said.

The day after Thanksgiving has become known as Black Friday, as it begins the Christmas shopping season, when retailers achieve a profit for the year after operating at a break-even point or loss.

It is also a reference to the accounting practice of using black ink, or being "in the black," to denote profits.

City News Service


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