Updated Results! See new data from our Black Friday 2023 Survey, here.
We surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers to discover how people plan to participate in Black Friday 2020. Many plan to stay home due to health and safety concerns.
As with most events and gatherings in 2020, Black Friday shopping is predicted to look a little different this year. Our market research company conducted an online survey with 2,000 U.S. consumers to compare changes from the 2019 holiday shopping season to 2020.
Key findings from the Black Friday 2020 Survey included:
- Only 16% of U.S. shoppers plan to shop in-person for Black Friday 2020.
- There will be a 28% increase in 2020 online Black Friday shopping from 2019.
- 57% of U.S. shoppers will avoid Black Friday shopping due to health and safety concerns.
- For those planning to shop in-person, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target are among top stores.
Keep reading to uncover more findings from our PR survey.
In 2019, 1:3 Americans Shopped In-Person for Black Friday
In 2020, 1:6 U.S. Shoppers Plan to Shop In-Person for Black Friday
Comparing Holiday Shopping from 2019 to 2020
Black Friday is possibly the busiest shopping day each year – but with the convenience of online shopping, many have steered away from visiting brick and mortar locations.
In 2019, 93.2 million people made a purchase online during Black Friday. This is larger than the 83.3 million people who shopped online for Cyber Monday.
2020 seems to be no different, as our survey results show a 28% increase in online Black Friday shopping from 2019. Cyber Monday 2020 is also predicted to see increasing revenue with an 18% increase from the previous year.
Reasons for Not Going Black Friday Shopping In-Person
Over the past few years, in-person Black Friday shopping has seen a steady decline. Most people would rather do their shopping online from the comfort of their own homes and not have to deal with the mass crowds and long lines.
An added component for the 2020 holiday shopping period is undoubtfully the shifts in consumer behavior due to COVID-19.
Unsurprisingly, health and safety concerns were one of the top reasons why people will avoid in-person Black Friday shopping.
Other reasons U.S. shoppers will stay home on Black Friday 2020 include:
- Too many crowds: 1,019 responses (61%)
- Health/safety concerns: 957 responses (57%)
- Not worth the hassle: 811 responses (48%)
- Long lines: 686 responses (41%)
- Better deals online: 431 responses (26%)
- Parking issues: 344 responses (21%)
- Financial reasons: 284 responses (17%)
- Not enough time: 156 responses (9%)
Top Stores for In-Person 2020 Black Friday Shopping
While only 16% of U.S. shoppers reported they would be participating in Black Friday in-person this year, our market research company wanted to learn what brick and mortar stores they planned on visiting.
The top responses included Walmart, Best Buy, and Target.
Other brick and mortar stores included:
- Macy’s: 79 responses (25%)
- Costco: 78 responses (24%)
- Home Depot: 72 responses (22%)
- Big Lots: 70 responses (22%)
- Gamestop: 70 responses (22%)
- JCPenny: 68 responses (21%)
- Lowe’s: 54 responses (17%)
- Dick’s Sporting Goods: 47 responses (15%)
- BJ’s: 30 responses (9%)
Survey Demographics
To learn more about the survey results per gender, region, or income level please contact our team.
Gender
- Male: 50% of respondents
- Female: 50% of respondents
Region
- Midwest: 21% of respondents
- Northeast: 21% of respondents
- Southeast: 25% of respondents
- Southwest: 10% of respondents
- West: 23% of respondents
Income Level
- Less than $75,000: 65% of respondents
- $75,000 or more: 35% of respondents
Source
The online survey was conducted by Drive Research among a general population between September 14 and September 16, 2020. Survey responses were collected via a third-party online panel.
The Black Friday 2020 survey collected a total of 2,000 responses at the 95% confidence level, which offers a 2.2% margin of error.
If the survey were conducted with another random pool of 2,000 U.S. shoppers, results would yield within +2.2% or -2.2% of the stated totals.
The margin of error can be used as a guideline to understand the high reliability of these results.
These results were featured on Statista. Click the links below!
- Consumers planning to shop Thanksgiving sales
- Why U.S. shoppers do not plan to go to physical stores on Black Friday 2020
- Where U.S. shoppers plan to shop in-store on Black Friday 2020
- Share of U.S. consumers planning to shop Thanksgiving sales 2020, by gender
- Share of U.S. consumers planning to shop Thanksgiving sales 2020, by region
- Share of U.S. consumers planning to shop Thanksgiving sales 2020, by income
About Drive Research
Drive Research is a PR survey company located in New York. Our market research services extend across the U.S. and the world. Our market research firm works with a variety of organizations, helping deliver insights, action items, and ROI on their survey efforts.
Media Contact
Emily Carroll, Marketing Coordinator
Emily Carroll
A SUNY Cortland graduate, Emily has taken her passion for social and content marketing to Drive Research as the Marketing Coordinator. She has earned certificates for both Google Analytics and Google AdWords.
Learn more about Emily, here.
