The 2013 Find&Save Black Friday Shopping Survey shows how, when and why Night Owls and Early Bird shop on Black Friday. While primarily motivated by the sales, Black Friday shoppers are driven by the thrill of the competition to find a good deal and more likely to have a tradition built around Black Friday shopping.
Black Friday shoppers show little store brand loyalty and are typically lured by specific deals or items they find when planning their shopping trip. The kinds of deals that are most alluring are those offering a percentage discount. They are also much more likely to complete the majority of their holiday shopping on Black Friday.
We analyze and study all shoppers, but the Black Friday shopper is a different breed, a super shopper who thrives on finding the best deals and maximizing the day. Through the Find&Save survey, we found they are planners, they love the thrill of finding a great deal and would welcome mobile apps and other planning tools to help maximize the day. It was also interesting to see the differences between the shoppers who left in the middle of the night, vs. those who left first thing in the morning. Ben T. Smith, IV, CEO of Wanderful Media
Night Owl vs. Early Bird Black Friday Shoppers
The Find&Save survey compared the results of two different types of Black Friday shoppers: the Night Owls – Black Friday shoppers leaving their house before 5:00 AM, and the Early Birds – Black Friday shoppers leaving their house after 5:00 AM.
- The Night Owl shoppers are likely to get most of their holiday shopping completed – 63 percent typically complete more than half of their shopping on Black Friday, compared to 42 percent among the Early Bird shoppers leaving after 5 AM.
- Overall, 53 percent of the Night Owls and 38 percent of the Early Birds said they “love it” when asked how they felt about Black Friday sales starting early on Thursday evening and extending through Sunday.
- About 75 percent of Night Owls are shopping for electronics, compared to 60 percent of the Early Bird shoppers.
- While both sets of shoppers are primarily interested in finding a great deal, 40 percent of the Night Owls said they enjoy the competition, vs. 24 percent of the Early Bird shoppers.
Black Friday Shoppers Research Deals and Create a Game Plan
A key finding of the research cites that 67 percent of shoppers not only research and map out a plan for Black Friday, but also have a different strategy each year based on where they will find the best deals.
Traditional media sources like newspaper circulars, television, and direct mail are still considered among the top sources by Black Friday shoppers; in fact, newspapers were still rated by most (36 percent) as a top source of information. But while only 29 percent said emails were a top source of information, 82 percent said they would be interested in receiving emails on Black Friday sales.
Mobile devices are increasingly important while shopping. Two-thirds either use or would consider using their mobile device to help with Black Friday shopping – primarily they would use it to check prices or use the geo-locator to find sales near them. They are also interested in using their mobile device to browse Black Friday circulars while on the go.
Here’s the infographic from Wanderful:
