Last Weekend Was Cyber Weekend, and Here Is What Happened

The pandemic continues to impact consumer behavior, and this impact is magnified on key retail holidays.

Numerator issued a survey to 2,500 verified buyers over Cyber Weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) to understand how they shopped and whether COVID-19 affected their purchase decisions. Here’s what Numerator learned:

• 31% shopped Thursday (Thanksgiving) deals in 2020, down from 41% in 2019.
• Nearly half (46%) did all or most of their Black Friday weekend shopping online this year, vs. one-third (33%) last year. Conversely, those who did all or most of their shopping in-store was down to less than 1 in 3 shoppers (32%) this year, vs. nearly 1 in 2 (45%) in 2019.
• Nearly half of Cyber Weekend shoppers (46%) were primarily or exclusively purchasing gifts for others, up from 42% last year.
• 60% of Cyber Weekend shoppers are mostly or completely done with their holiday gift shopping, up slightly from 57% at this time last year.
• Nearly half (45%) purchased items related to/influenced by COVID-19.
• One in four (28%) took advantage of the deals to stock up on products. Most popular stock up items included: toilet paper (20%), paper towels (17%), non-perishables (15%), sanitizing wipes (14%), vitamins (12%), pain relievers (8%) and cold & flu medicine (7%).
• One in five (20%) purchased comfortable clothing/athletic leisure wear for staying at home.
• 4% purchased headphones, a new necessity for working from home or attending virtual school.
• Primary reasons for shifting more shopping online were COVID-19 related; 53% avoiding large crowds, 52% generally shopping more online during COVID-19, 47% making fewer in-store trips during COVID-19.