Black Friday Is Not Dead, It's Just Different

RetailMeNot Releases 2014 Black Friday Predictions and Shopping Trends

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Oct 14, 2014, 07:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- RetailMeNot (www.retailmenot.com), a leading digital offers destination that helps consumers save money, today announced the latest edition of its Shoppers Trend Report, which revealed nearly half (46%) of consumers plan to start their holiday shopping before November this year, and 1 in 4 intend to have their holiday shopping completely finished by Black Friday.

According to the RetailMeNot Shoppers Trend Report survey, conducted in conjunction with The Omnibus Company, 15% of consumers pick up winter holiday gifts throughout the year to spread out the cost.

"These findings reflect the shift we've seen over the past few years toward an extended holiday shopping season," says Trae Bodge, senior lifestyle editor for The Real Deal by RetailMeNot. "Where Black Friday used to be the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, it's now close to the finish line for many consumers who've started taking advantage of deals earlier in the season and throughout the year. However, the "5 Days of Savings" (Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) still represents a meaningful part of the holiday shopping season, both in-store and online, as we see retailers continue to deepen their discounts on RetailMeNot during this period."

With more consumers shopping earlier, many retailers have responded by extending their holiday hours and even opening their stores on Thanksgiving Day. Consumers seem receptive to this new trend according to the survey:

1 in 3 consumers feel that retailers being open on Thanksgiving Day gives those who have to work on Black Friday the opportunity to still get great sales
Close to 1 in 4 (22%) Americans feels retailers being open on Thanksgiving Day gives people something fun to do on the holiday
1 in 5 even think it allows people to get better deals than on Black Friday

Based on trends from 2012 and 2013, senior editor Trae Bodge expects to see the following activities surrounding Black Friday this year. To review the predictions below in more detail, visit www.retailmenot.com/blog/black-friday-trends-2014.html.

Trend 1: It's no longer just about Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Retailers will release strong offers throughout the Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday shopping period, creating "5 Days of Savings."

Trend 2: Retailers will stagger deals to create a sense of excitement and prevent in-store bottlenecks on busy shopping days.

Trend 3: Some retailers will guarantee product availability if the purchase is made during a specific time frame.

Trend 4: More retailers will offer price matching against competitors.

Trend 5: Offers will be made available through a variety of channels, including email, mobile, social and print, making it easy for consumers to save in-store and online.

Trend 6: Retailers will incentivize consumers to join their loyalty programs by offering perks such as early access to sales and opportunities to earn rewards.

Trend 7: Consumers will be interested in getting deep discounts on more than just consumer electronics on Black Friday.

Trend 8: To avoid having to fulfill last-minute shipping orders, retailers will offer promotions that encourage early online shopping and provide delivery alternatives like in-store pickup.

Even with retailers kicking off their holiday promotions earlier and releasing offers throughout the holiday season, Black Friday still remains a landmark day in the minds of consumers. RetailMeNot conducted a survey at the beginning of the year with the Omnibus Company that found Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving Day are the most popular shopping holidays of the year:

Black Friday: 36%
Cyber Monday: 32%
Thanksgiving Day: 25%

Consumers can visit www.RetailMeNot.com to search for offers and get a head start on holiday shopping.

Report Methodologies

The October 2014 Survey was conducted between September 3 and September 8, 2014 among 1,036 U.S. residents ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.0 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.

The January 2014 Survey was conducted between December 26 and January 3, 2014 among 1,014 U.S. residents ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.

About RetailMeNot.com
RetailMeNot.com (http://www.retailmenot.com) is a leading digital offers destination that helps consumers save money. Since November 2006, our users have shared hundreds of thousands of offers from retailers. These offers are voted on by users, ensuring that quality deals rise to the top and those that are expired drop down the list. RetailMeNot.com is operated by RetailMeNot, Inc., the world's largest marketplace for digital offers. Consumers can save more at their favorite stores by downloading the RetailMeNot App at http://www.retailmenot.com/blog/rmn-whats-new.html.

We're out to save the world (some money).™ Consumers can follow RetailMeNot on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ by visiting http://www.retailmenot.com/corp/websites.

About RetailMeNot, Inc.
RetailMeNot, Inc. (http://www.retailmenot.com/corp/) operates the world's largest marketplace for digital offers. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers from their favorite retailers and brands. During the 12 months ended June 30, 2014, RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced more than 625 million visits to its websites. In 2013, RetailMeNot estimates $3.5 billion in its paid retailer sales were attributable to consumer traffic from digital offers in its marketplace. Its mobile apps have been downloaded over 18.5 million times. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio includes RetailMeNot.com, the largest digital offer marketplace in the United States; RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; VoucherCodes.co.uk, the largest digital offers marketplace in the United Kingdom; Deals.com in Germany; Actiepagina.nl, a leading digital offers site in the Netherlands; Bons-de-Reduction.com and Ma-Reduc.com, leading digital offers sites in France; Poulpeo.com, a leading digital offers site with cash back in France; and Deals2Buy.com, a leading digital offers site in North America. RetailMeNot, Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol "SALE." Investors interested in learning more about the company can visit http://investor.retailmenot.com.