American shoppers shelled out $313 each over five-day weekend

THE AVERAGE U.S. shopper spent $313 over the five-day holiday weekend. / BLOOMBERG NEWS FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL NAGLE
THE AVERAGE U.S. shopper spent $313 over the five-day holiday weekend. / BLOOMBERG NEWS FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL NAGLE

NEW YORK – A million more United States shoppers than expected turned out for the five-day holiday weekend, and many spent hundreds of dollars without even leaving their homes, according to the National Retail Federation.

The average U.S. shopper spent $313 over the period, with older millennials and Generation X shoppers forking over about $100 more each, the NRF and survey partner Prosper Insights & Analytics said in a report. Retailers’ recent investments in e-commerce paid off as well, with so-called “multi-channel” shoppers that make purchases both online and in-store outspending single-channel shoppers by $93.

More than 165 million Americans shopped either in stores or online, more than expected heading into the five-day period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. Still, that’s less than the 174 million Americans who shopped in stores and online during the same period last year.

The NRF’s results confirm what earlier reports also indicated: Americans are feeling pretty confident and ready to shop as they head into 2019. More are opting to use e-commerce, and companies seem to have found success by adding options such as in-store pickups for online orders and expedited shipping deals.

- Advertisement -

Giving customers these services has a cost however, and the higher sales will likely be accompanied by a decrease in profitability as retailers contend with higher transportation and labor costs. Analysts have also warned that sales growth is starting to slow as the U.S. economy shows signs of cooling off amid a deepening trade war and higher interest rates.

Nonetheless, retailers have good reason to celebrate, at least for now. After all, the shopping season is going strong and it isn’t over: Consumers on average have more than half of their holiday shopping left to do.

Hema Parmar and Jonathan Roeder are reporters for Bloomberg News.

No posts to display