Thanksgiving Shopping Weekend Is Anticipated to Be Pre-pandemic Levels With the Phrase “This Year Feels So Normal”

RENO, Nev. (775 Times, NV Globe) – Despite inflation and the fact that most businesses are now closed on Thanksgiving, Black Friday remains a lucrative industry.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), over 166 million people expect to buy between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. This is an increase of eight million persons over the previous year.

69% of those planning to shop over the weekend want to do so on Black Friday.

“This year feels so normal,” said Ron Lembke, associate professor of supply chain management and business analytics at the University of Nevada Reno. “I think a lot of people just think ‘Yeah, thank goodness, we finally get to have a normal Christmas.”

“If you went from 10 dollars to 12 dollars an hour, that’s a 20 percent raise,” he said. “Now, you still have a very low income but you might feel better off than you were last year, and they may feel like ‘Okay, now is the time that I can spend more money.”

The NRF reports that 60% of customers started their Christmas shopping by the first week of November, drawn in by early discounts and concerned about possible price increases. However, Lembke thinks that if greater discounts appear along the way, more people will follow.

“You started buying now and you know, you have a longer buying window, you’re probably going to buy more stuff,” he said.