Over half of Americans plan to cut back on Black Friday splurges in response to inflation

• Even those planning purchases will spend less than last year 
• A large majority of the public support retailer REI’s decision to permanently shut its stores on Black Friday
• Meanwhile, 72% of consumers will change their gifting habits this year, most by giving presents to fewer people - work colleagues & friends are prime suspects to be cut out

Attest, a leading consumer research platform, today reveals over half (51%) of Americans will pull back on spending this Black Friday, compared to last year, in response to inflation.

According to the new research, the 51% of Americans who will cut back this Black Friday will instead:

• Prioritize their money to cover day-to-day expenses (38%)
• Save money in case they need it due to economic uncertainty (34%)
• Pay for home energy bills (10%) and gas for their vehicles (7%)

Spenders’ plan for Black Friday 2022

However, most consumers do plan to spend at least something this Black Friday (at 80%):

• Average spending will be significantly lower this year: Last year, Attest found that Americans were on average spending $300-$500 (at 22%) on Black Friday. Yet this year, people are most likely to spend a much lower $101-200 (18%), followed by $201-$300 (17%). 
• Most will combine in-store and online: Spenders prefer to mix both in-person and online shopping on Black Friday (44%), while 35% will make purchases exclusively online and 19% only in-store. 
• Clothing trumps technology: Past research from Attest has found that technology products have always been the most sought-after by consumers for Black Friday. However, this year, clothing (at 45%) is the main type of product people plan to buy, followed by technology items (41%) and home goods (28%).

What consumers think of Black Friday

Despite the roll-out of further sales days like a second Prime Day, it appears that Black Friday has further enhanced its reputation as the premier sales event in the calendar for Americans.  

Over two-thirds (68%) agree it is the best day to buy discounted products (up from last year’s 58%). Yet there are signs of sales fatigue amongst hard-pressed consumers. A majority of 45% think the Black Friday sales event should be limited to 1-3 days at most, followed by 28% who believe it should just be a one-day event. 

When it comes to their favorite retailers on the day, consumers were most likely to select Walmart as their top choice for Black Friday sales, followed by Amazon and Target.

Following retailer REI’s announcement it is permanently shutting all its stores on Black Friday and giving employees a guaranteed day off, the vast majority of consumers (60%) support this move, with just 9% opposing this decision.  

Beyond Black Friday: 72% will change gifting habits this year

Attest also surveyed Americans on how rapid price rises may alter their gifting behavior for the holiday season. An overwhelming majority (72%) plan to radically change how they gift – and who. The research finds that:

• Consumers will dial back the number of people who will receive gifts: Of this 72%, consumers are most likely to gift fewer people in total this holiday season (21%) due to the rapidly rising cost of living. This is followed by those who will gift fewer presents to their loved ones (20%) and 15% who plan to give “much cheaper” presents. 
  • Other solutions cash-strapped Americans will rely on include: gifting no one, giving second-hand/homemade products (both 5%), and providing presents without wrapping (4%). 
• Work colleagues & friends better prepare for no gifts: Of the 21% who will gift fewer people this year, work colleagues (at 22%) and friends (16%) are the most likely to face the chop from holiday gifting. Yet family members aren’t immune as the next most likely to have present-less holidays are siblings and uncles/aunts (both at 10% respectively).
• Some will even scale back gifting a partner: Incredibly, some brave Americans (7%) even plan to avoid gifting their spouse/partner this year due to inflation. 

Jeremy King, CEO and Founder of Attest, said of the research: “What a difference a year makes; worries about empty shelves must seem like a very distant memory for consumers.”

“Inflation’s impact is hard to ignore from our research. A majority of hard-pressed consumers plan to scale back Black Friday spending compared to last year and instead prioritize stretching their dollars to pay for day-to-day expenditure.” 

“Even more subtle changes to Black Friday spending habits appear to be happening due to inflation. For the first time in our Black Friday research, clothing has replaced technology products as the top item sought-after by consumers. Given that such technology products tend to have higher price points overall, it seems that even dedicated Black Friday spenders may be trying to save where they can.”

“This drive to save dollars extends into the Holidays beyond Black Friday too, with seven in ten Americans changing their holiday gifting habits this year. In this environment, with shifting spending and patterns, retailers likely face one of the most challenging holiday retail seasons in a long time.”