We surveyed Syracuse residents to discuss what, where, and how much they will spend during Cyber Week 2021. See how we compare to national averages.
Believe it or not, the holiday shopping season is quickly upon us. Our local market research company wanted to learn more about CNY shopping preferences and behaviors for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.
In addition to surveying Syracuse residents, Drive Research also polled 1,000 U.S. consumers. We asked the same questions about Cyber Week in order to see how CNY compared to a nationally representative audience.
Key highlights from the 2021 Cyber Week Survey among Syracuse consumers include:
- 56% of Syracuse residents plan to shop online for Black Friday -- doubling the percentage of people who will shop in-person (25%).
- Syracuse residents are more likely to shop for Small Business Saturday compared to other areas of the U.S.
- The majority of Syracuse residents typically spend $600 to $799 on holiday shopping. This beats the national average of $400-$599.
- 1 in 2 Syracuse consumers will not complete their holiday shopping until a few weeks leading up to Christmas.
- 82% of Syracuse residents agree that retail locations should be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Keep reading for more holiday shopping insights among Syracuse, NY residents and how they compare to the rest of the U.S. population.
eCommerce sites will remain the biggest source of holiday shopping during Cyber Week 2021.
For the better part of a decade, Black Friday deals have been made available online. However, many consumers associated online shopping with Cyber Monday, and therefore took advantage of Black Friday deals in-person.
In 2020, those plans came to a halt as 57% of U.S. shoppers avoided in-person shopping due to health and safety concerns surrounding COVID-19.
Although we've made positive strides toward limiting the spread of Coronavirus, the majority of Syracuse consumers will choose to shop online throughout Cyber Week 2021.
The survey showed that 56% of Syracuse consumers plan to shop online for Black Friday. Additionally, 55% will shop on Cyber Monday.
Both of these figures are 2X that of Syracuse shoppers planning to visit brick-and-mortar locations on Black Friday (25%).
Syracuse residents are more likely to shop for Small Business Saturday compared to other areas of the U.S.
How do these figures compare to a nationally representative audience?
When polling 1,000 U.S. consumers, Drive Research found that more people would be willing to shop in person for Black Friday (35%). However, both online Black Friday and Cyber Monday remained the top sources of holiday shopping, similar to Syracuse.
The biggest difference was attendance for Small Business Saturday. Syracuse residents are over 2.5X more likely to shop on Small Business Saturday than other areas of the United States.
Clothing and accessories, electronics, and arts and crafts will be the most purchased items throughout Cyber Week in Syracuse, NY.
Our market research firm asked Syracuse-based respondents what type of purchases they plan to make on Black Friday (both in-person and online), Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday.
Top items differed across different shopping days, but clothing and accessories, electronics, and arts and crafts were the most popular.
Below is a breakdown of what Syracuse consumers plan to buy during Cyber Week.
Black Friday (In-Person)
- 77% of Syracuse residents plan to purchase clothing and accessories in-person on Black Friday.
- 71% of local consumers plan to purchase electronics.
- Other popular answers included toys (52%), household appliances (44%), and health and beauty items (25%).
Black Friday (Online)
- 70% of the Syracuse community plan to online shop for electronics on Black Friday.
- 64% of people plan to online shop for clothing and accessories on Black Friday.
- Other popular answers included toys (56%), household appliances (37%), books (31%), and pet items (31%).
Small Business Saturday
- 64% of local residents plan to purchase arts and crafts on Small Business Saturday 2021.
- 51% of people plan to purchase clothing and accessories on Small Business Saturday 2021.
- Other popular answers included books (30%), interior home decor (29%), and pet items (25%).
Cyber Monday
- 70% of CNY residents plan to shop for electronics on Cyber Monday 2021.
- 57% of Syracuse residents plan to shop for clothing and accessories on Cyber Monday 2021.
- Other popular answers included toys (44%), household appliances (30%), and books (24%).
22% of Syracuse residents typically spend $600 to $799 on holiday spending.
Studies have shown that American 48% of consumers plan to spend more money this upcoming holiday season to make up for last year's social distance festivities.
But how much exactly do Americans typically spend? And how does that compare to our local communities?
Drive Research found that on average, U.S. consumers typically spend $400 to $599 on holiday shopping. Whereas Syracuse consumers are more likely to spend $600 to $799 during the holiday season.
82% of the Syracuse population agrees that retail locations should be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
For the better part of the 2000's many big-box retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Target started their Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving. While their store hours were met with controversy, the amount of money made on Thanksgiving outweighed any backlash.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of people planned to stay-at-home to avoid the large lines and crowds that usually accompany Black Friday. As a result, stores across the country remained closed Thanksgiving Day and night.
While we are in a better state today than we were last year, these stores have kept their policy to stay closed for Turkey Day.
The Syracuse community heavily supports the retailer's new holiday hours.
Our survey showed that 82% of Syracuse residents somewhat agree or strongly agree retail locations should be closed on Thanksgiving 2021. Only 6% of respondents strongly disagreed with stores remaining closed.
CNY has a stronger level of agreement than the rest of the U.S. as only 57% of Americans agree retail locations should be closed on the Thanksgiving holiday.
Nearly 1 in 3 Syracuse residents will not finish their holiday shopping until the week leading up to Christmas.
While it seems like stores begin selling Christmas decor before Halloween is even over, most Syracuse consumers admit to waiting until the last minute to finish their holiday shopping.
For context, 28% of Syracuse residents will not complete their holiday shopping until the week leading up to Christmas.
We seem to be a bit more procrastinators compared to other areas of the country. In our national Black Friday survey, we found that only 18% of consumers wait until the week leading up to Christmas to finish their holiday shopping.
Other popular answers to, "When will you complete your holiday shopping?" include:
- 50% of CNY consumers will complete their holiday shopping by early to mid-December.
- 10% of CNY consumers will complete their holiday shopping after Thanksgiving.
- 6% of CNY consumers will complete their holiday shopping after Cyber Monday.
- 5% of CNY consumers will complete their holiday shopping after Black Friday.
- 1% of CNY consumers will complete their holiday shopping after Small Business Saturday.
Survey Methodology
Survey Methodology
- The Syracuse-based survey received over 200 responses.
- The national survey received 1,000 responses.
- Fieldwork was conducted with Syracuse residents (18 years or older) as well as residents throughout the United States.
- Fieldwork for both surveys began on October 15th and lasted united October 29th, 2021.
Syracuse Respondent Profile (By Gender)
- 26% of respondents were male.
- 74% of respondents were female.
Syracuse Respondent Profile (By Age)
- 7% of respondents were Generation Z.
- 31% of respondents were Millennials.
- 27% of respondents were Generation X.
- 32% of respondents were Baby Boomers.
- 4% of respondents were Traditionalists.
Drive Research is a national PR survey company based in Syracuse, New York. Our CNY market research firm works with a variety of organizations, helping deliver insights, action items, and ROI on their survey efforts.
Our research has been featured in top-tier media outlets including USA Today, CNBC, Forbes, Spectrum, Yahoo Finance, and Statista.
To learn more about our market research services, contact our team today.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Emily Carroll
A SUNY Cortland graduate, Emily has taken her passion for social and content marketing to Drive Research as the Marketing Manager. She has earned certificates for both Google Analytics and Google AdWords.
Learn more about Emily, here.
