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Despite inflation, US record shopping expectations on Thanksgiving and Black Friday

ANKARA / Ofunk Kutlu – Eso Besir / Anatolia

Despite rising inflation, a record number of US consumers are expected to shop during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday holidays.

This comes as the cost of celebrating Thanksgiving in general has risen 20% over last year due to rising inflation, according to official data.

According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, an estimated 166.3 million people plan to shop between Thanksgiving Thursday and Cyber ​​Monday.

and Cyber ​​​​​​Monday, a marketing term for the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

The term was coined by marketing companies to get people to shop online and was first used on November 28, 2005, becoming one of the most popular days for online shopping.

If this number is achieved, it will increase by 8 million from last year and surpass the 165.3 million shoppers registered in 2019 before the Corona virus pandemic and the high inflation that began affecting American consumers in 2021.

and Prosper Insights & Analytics, a leading global consumer intent data company serving the financial services, marketing technology and retail industries.

“Although there is much speculation about the impact of inflation on consumer behavior, our data suggests Thanksgiving weekend will see strong in-store shopping with record numbers of shoppers, benefiting from affordable prices.”

It’s also estimated that nearly 33 million people in the United States will shop on Thanksgiving, while more than 114 million are expected to visit stores or shop online on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, according to the survey.

The “Small Business” trade show, which supports local businesses, is also expected to see more than 60 million shoppers on Saturday, followed by 31 million on Sunday.

Analysts estimate that around 64 million consumers will benefit from deals on Cyber ​​Monday, the second-biggest day for shopping and the biggest day for e-commerce.

The survey, which was conducted between 1 and 8 November and involved 7,719 consumers, finds that ‘Black Friday’ is still the most popular day for shopping, with 69% planning to shop on that day. moment and 38% on “Cyber ​​Monday.”

NRF estimates that sales during the holiday season, which runs from November to the end of December, will grow 6 to 8 percent over last year, to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion.

** The high cost of Thanksgiving dinner

Ahead of last year’s holiday season, Americans were faced with a 6.2% annual increase in the consumer price index in October 2021.

Sales volumes are expected to increase from last year during the ongoing holiday season, even as inflation is at its highest level in nearly four decades.

The same is true for Thanksgiving when the cost of the traditional dinner, which usually includes turkey, sweet potatoes, peas, greens and pumpkin pie, is up 20% from last year.

In this regard, the Association of American Farm Bureaus “ABFB” said in a statement that the cost of a party for 10 people is estimated at an average of $64.05, an increase of $10.74 compared to the average of the last year of $53.31.

The turkey, weighing 7.26 kg, cost $28.96, an increase of 21% from last year.

In context, AFBF economist Roger Cryan said in a statement, “General inflation, which is reducing consumers’ purchasing power, is a major factor contributing to the rise in the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year.” ‘year”.

“Other factors contributing to the cost of the meal include supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine,” Cryan added.

The American expert pointed out that “farmers are working hard to meet the growing demand for food, even as they face high prices for fuel, fertilizers and other agricultural supplies”.

“We shouldn’t take our food supply for granted,” Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureaus Association, said in a statement.

“Supporting sustainable productive agriculture in the United States and around the world is imperative,” Duvall noted.

** Black Friday

Black Friday sales are set to break records again this year, as the day after the American holiday Thanksgiving and one of the biggest shopping seasons in the US, major retailers are offering attractive discounts and deals on a variety of products .

While many have joined the search for the best Black Friday deals, a growing number of would-be shoppers are taking a stand against consumerism by buying nothing.

** Why do we call it “Black Friday”?

The name dates back to the early 1960s, when the Philadelphia police began using it to describe the chaos of the countless suburban tourists who flocked to the city for Christmas shopping.

The huge crowds caused headaches for the police, who worked longer hours than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting and other problems.

Today we can see a similar frenzy across the globe as many shoppers seem to lose control of their spending completely as they seek out the best deals and discounts they can find.

Some customers even fight with each other trying to buy the latest big screen TV or game console offered at a discount.

** “A day without buying” instead of “Black Friday”

While crowds of people crowd the shop windows, some simply do the opposite by staying at home, buying nothing.

The Day Without Buying campaign, originally born as an anti-consumerism movement, has been held on the same day as Black Friday since 1997.

The main goal of the campaign is to get people to think more about their decisions about what to buy and where to shop.

The battle cry is clear: don’t buy anything for 24 hours and don’t be a slave to the things you buy.

Hence, every year Black Friday is accompanied by a protest against it, as climate activists grab onto the movement to get their message across, essentially trying to bring public attention to how much consumerism is contributing to climate change. .

While consumer spending makes up a large part of the global economy, it’s not hard to imagine how much shopping and the manufacturing of new products contribute to worsening global warming.

A Day Without Buying is a day for people to choose not to buy non-essentials and to raise awareness of how to spend ethically.

Black Friday versus a no-shopping day: It’s time to think more about our spending decisions and whether they’re in line with nature.


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