IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Just under 190 million U.S. consumers shopped at least once from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, a record, the National Retail Federation announced Wednesday.
That was a 14 percent increase compared with last year, when nearly 168 million people went shopping during that five-day period, the federation reported, citing data gathered by Prosper Insight & Analytics, a consumer market research firm in Worthington, Ohio.
Shoppers spent an average $361.90 – up 16 percent, from $313.29 -year -over-year. Of that, $257.33 – 71 percent – was spent on gifts.
Thanksgiving weekend continues to be a critical time for many U.S. consumers, said Matthew Shay, federation president and chief executive officer.
“With the condensed holiday season, consumers are feeling the pressure to get their shopping done in time,” Shay said in a statement.. “Even those who typically wait until the last minute to purchase gifts turned out in record numbers all weekend long.”
