Black Friday starts early to combat Cyber Monday payday, with 83 percent of under-35s planning to shop

CACI, the data specialists focused on people and place, has unveiled new insight into how consumers will spend this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The data shows that more than half of consumers expect to make purchases over the shopping period, with Christmas gifting a key driver of spending and the timing of payday shaping when shoppers can afford to buy.

This year, payday for a quarter of working adults falls on Monday 30th November, the last working day of the month and Cyber Monday itself. By Black Friday on 27th November, many shoppers will therefore have the least disposable income of the month left. As a result, brands are rolling out their Black Friday offers early, to capture spend sooner in the month, before budgets run dry.

Insight from CACI’s most recent Voice of the Nation Survey, which analyses data from a nationally representative sample of 2,000 respondents across the UK, indicates that:

• 57 percent of consumers expect to make purchases over the Black Friday / Cyber Monday period
  • This rises to 83 percent among under-35s and falls to below 40 percent among over-55s
  • Stretched Society are the most likely Acorn demographic group to shop, at 61 percent
• Of those planning to shop, 58 percent intend to purchase Christmas gifts, while 40 percent plan to buy something for themselves
  • Among shoppers with children under 18 at home, 64 percent intend to purchase Christmas gifts, compared to 55 percent of those without children
  • Regionally, 77 percent of Welsh shoppers plan to use the period to buy Christmas gifts, compared with just 52 percent of London shoppers
  • However, there is no notable difference between rural-based and urban-based shoppers
  • Age plays a part, with older shoppers slightly more likely to buy for Christmas and a lot less likely to buy for themselves (35 percent of over 45s, compared with 43 percent of under 45s)
  • 63 percent of female shoppers plan to buy gifts, compared to 53 percent of male shoppers. However, men are more likely to buy something for themselves (44 percent compared to 36 percent of women)
• 26 percent of consumers say they are paid on the last working day of the month, meaning they will not receive their salary until Cyber Monday this year
• 19 percent of consumers say they like finding Black Friday bargains, even if they do not really need them; while bargain-hunting alone is not the main draw, more than half of consumers still intend to shop, suggesting Black Friday spending is increasingly purposeful, led by Christmas gifting rather than impulse

Chris Lidington, Director or Retail, FMCG and Logistics at CACI said, “The recent Voice of the Nation survey findings reveal that Black Friday and Cyber Monday remain an important opportunity for retailers, but understanding what is driving consumer spending is key. With Christmas gifting emerging as the primary motivation for many shoppers, retailers have an opportunity to capture seasonal spend earlier, while differences across genders, household types, and regions highlight the importance of understanding their audiences.

Timing is a big part of this. With payday not landing until Cyber Monday for a quarter of UK adults, many shoppers will be at their most financially stretched when Black Friday arrives, which explains why so many brands are bringing their offers forward to catch spend earlier in the month. With only around one in five shoppers saying they enjoy hunting for bargains they don’t really need, the findings suggest that a successful Black Friday strategy is about more than price promotions. It is about understanding consumer priorities and giving people a compelling reason to buy, at the point they are ready to spend.”

Image courtesy of Unsplash. Photo credit: Vitaly Gariev.