Only 17 per cent of people will do Christmas gift buying on Black Friday
Today is Black Friday, one of the biggest retail events each year, and despite millions queuing at stores and rushing online to secure the best deals, it is not a day that people will do the bulk of their Christmas shopping. In fact, only 17 per cent of people will buy Christmas gifts today.
The Life Style Study from DDB found that while retailers are focused on the sales tallies surrounding Thanksgiving weekend, most people prefer to do their gift buying during the weeknights (28 per cent) and weekends (26 per cent) between Thanksgiving and Christmas rather than on Black Friday (17 per cent), Cyber Monday (9 per cent) and throughout Thanksgiving weekend (10 per cent).
However of those surveyed, the majority (57 per cent) of adults believe the best deals can be found on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. A significant 43 per cent believe the longer you wait to do your holiday shopping, the better the deals will be.
The study also suggested that most people would prefer to visit bricks-and-mortar stores if they thought they would get the same prices as online. 48 per cent of people would prefer to do their shopping in-store it matched online deals, versus 46 per cent who would still prefer to do it online.
When asked whether they would opt for a less well-known brand that offers better savings on a gift, or instead stick to choosing well-known brands as gifts, even if they cost more, 61 per cent of adults said they would select a lesser-known brand to save some money.
However there is a significant generational difference at play here, with 45 per cent of Millennials saying they would stick to a well-known brand when selecting a gift versus 37 per cent of Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964).
A similar generational difference is apparent when considering the types of gifts that people tend to purchase for others. While 71 per cent of Boomers try to buy gifts that are practical or useful, only 56 per cent of Millennials approach gift selection in this way.
The DDB Life Style Study has been conducted annually since 1975, the sample is balanced to the US Census on gender, age and race. The data is from a survey that was fielded in October 2013 among 865 people.