Everything about the holiday season is changing this year, and that includes Black Friday. We sent out a survey to understand how people are shopping this Black Friday and what concerns they have for the big event.
How coronavirus is affecting Black Friday
More people are eager to get to their Black Friday shopping early this year. A whopping 98% of Black Friday shoppers planned to search for deals well before Black Friday, and 35.8% are feeling the pressure to make gifts extra special this year.
Early shopping for Black Friday
Just how early are people scavenging for the best Black Friday deals? Many started looking around Halloween, but 69.3% of our respondents started their shopping two weeks before Black Friday. On a related note, 44.83% of shoppers plan to shop solely with Amazon this year.
Online shopping concerns
Many of our respondents expressed worry about the availability and timely delivery of items this Black Friday. The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on web retailers and their supply chains. Many items aren’t always readily available, and once they are, they take some time to actually arrive at customers’ doorsteps.
Of our survey participants:
- 72.5% are worried items will sell out before they can purchase them
- 66.8% are worried items will arrive damaged or get lost in the mail
- 64% are concerned about identity theft
- 46% are worried the site they are shopping on will crash
Hot-ticket tech this Black Friday
Black Friday is always a big day for buying new tech gear. This seems especially true this year with the release of the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X gaming consoles, as well as the latest Apple iPhone 12.
When asked what tech items shoppers are looking to purchase, we found these at the very top of the lists:
- PlayStation 5—1 in 5 (22%) shoppers
- Apple iPhone 12—1 in 7 (13.7%) shoppers
- Xbox Series X—1 in 8 (12.8%) shoppers
Conclusion
There’s no denying that Black Friday is going to look very different this year, with online shopping blurring the line between it and Cyber Monday more than ever before. Given the hiccups in supply chains and distribution this year, shoppers have reason to be worried, but retailers seem to be aware of these concerns and have been offering their deals much earlier than normal. Black Friday doesn’t look the same, but it’s still very much here.
Methodology
WhistleOut surveyed 500 adults, ages 18 and older, about their Black Friday plans and online shopping worries this holiday season. The survey was distributed online via Pollfish.
Angelo Ilumba
Senior Writer
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