Ibotta Survey Reveals Black Friday Is Losing Steam as Consumers Shop Later and Spend Less

DENVER, Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Ibotta, the leading retail cash-back app in the U.S., releases the results of its Black Friday Shopper Survey, detailing shoppers' expectations around deals and their purchasing habits this holiday season. From preferred weeks to visit stores to anticipated budgets, Ibotta's Black Friday Shopper Survey offers insight into how the premier holiday shopping event is evolving in the minds of consumers and impacting their purchasing decisions.

The evolution of Black Friday 
Over the 2015 shopping season, holiday sales are forecast to reach $885.70 billion. Yet due to the rise of other shopping events like Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, Free Shipping Day and Super Saturday, Black Friday sales dropped 11 percent last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Because of the addition of these other deal days, Black Friday has lost some steam over years past, with nearly two-thirds of shoppers saying it's not as big of a deal it used to be. According to Ibotta, 57 percent of shoppers will complete the majority of their holiday purchases after what has traditionally been seen as the Super Bowl of shopping days, delaying the bulk of their shopping activity in hopes of finding better deals once Black Friday has ended.   

Here are the key findings from Ibotta's Black Friday Shopper Survey:

• 65% of shoppers believe Black Friday is not as big of a deal as it used to be
• 57% of shoppers will do most of their shopping post-Black Friday, and 8% of those shoppers will wait until the last minute and make purchases the week before Christmas  
• 49% of shoppers expect the best deals after Black Friday
• 47% of shoppers will shop both in-store and online for gifts
• Shoppers expect to find the best Black Friday deals on TVs, followed by toys and clothes

Equally important as knowing when shoppers will hit the stores is understanding how much they've budgeted for holiday gifts over the next two months. Americans will spend an average of $805 on holiday-related purchases this year, yet more than half of Ibotta's surveyed shoppers plan to trim their spending this year. Only nine percent of shoppers plan to spend more than they did last year, while 87 percent plan to spend the same or less.

Of those surveyed, here's how their budgets break down this year:

• 4% don't plan to purchase any gifts this year
• 32% of shoppers will spend $250 or less
• 32% will spend between $251 and $500
• 24% plan to spend between $501 and $1000
• 8% of shoppers will make over $1001 in purchases

"We conducted our Black Friday Shopper Survey to better understand how Americans are approaching what is the busiest retail season of the year," said Bryan Leach, CEO of Ibotta. "With the rise of other shopping days, coupled with the introduction of mobile shopping apps like Ibotta that enable consumers to find great deals all the time, fighting the crowds and competing for low stock items just isn't worth it anymore. We're seeing that some of the hype and anxiety that once surrounded Black Friday is lessening as holiday shopping evolves into an expanded opportunity to find the best deals and perfect gifts in all the weeks leading up to the holidays, not just Black Friday."

Ibotta's free mobile app is changing the way brands and retailers communicate with users through consumer promotions and media. By directly engaging with brands to learn about new products, shoppers unlock rebates to earn cash on their everyday purchases. The company currently works with over 500,000 retailer locations across the country, including Walmart, Target, Food Lion, Kroger, Rite Aid, Best Buy, Sephora and Famous Footwear.

To download the Ibotta app for iOS and Android, visit the App Store or Google Play.

Methodology
Ibotta surveyed its mobile app users from November 6 to 13, 2015 to analyze shopping behavior and purchasing decisions this holiday season.

About Ibotta 
Headquartered in Denver, CO, Ibotta is transforming the consumer shopping experience by making it easy for shoppers to earn cash back on their mobile phones. The company partners with leading brands and retailers to offer cash back on groceries, electronics, clothing, gifts, home and office supplies, and to date has paid out over $45 million in earnings to shoppers. Founded in 2011, Ibotta has over 11 million downloads and is one of the most frequently used apps in the U.S. For more information, please visit www.ibotta.com.

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SOURCE Ibotta