More North Carolinians Plan to Do Holiday Shopping on Cyber Monday Than Black Friday
HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 27, 2024 – A recent High Point University Poll found more North Carolinians plan to shop on Cyber Monday than on Black Friday.
The HPU Survey Research Center asked North Carolina residents about shopping on the Monday after Thanksgiving, known as Cyber Monday, one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. Nearly half (46%) said they plan on shopping online the Monday after Thanksgiving. About one-third (30%) said they do not intend to do so, and nearly one-quarter (24%) said they were unsure.
The poll shows 36% of North Carolinians plan to shop on the Friday after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday. About half (49%) polled said they will not shop on Black Friday this year, while 15% are unsure.
This finding is similar to the November 2023 poll when 34% of people in North Carolina said they would shop on Black Friday, compared to the 51% who said they were not going to shop. Only 15% said they weren’t sure if they were shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving that year.
When asked about choosing between the two, the Friday after Thanksgiving or Cyber Monday, more poll respondents said they would be shopping on Cyber Monday (40%), while a smaller percentage (24%) said Black Friday. One-quarter (25%) of poll respondents said neither day.
“Holiday shopping involves the interplay of buyer patterns, commercial advances and cultural pressures,” said Dr. Jerry Fox, chair of the Department of Economics in HPU’s Earl N. Phillips School of Business. “Online shopping has increased convenience, such as home delivery, price comparison, and 24/7 availability. But it has not reduced the stress of the holiday season. Stress continues to arise from factors such as finances, time constraints and social expectations.”
When North Carolinians do shop for the holidays, only 16% plan to do most of their shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, while 32% plan to do most of their shopping online.
An additional 40% of respondents said they will do both equally.
A majority (54%) of North Carolina residents said they will start their holiday shopping about the same time as any other year. About one-quarter of (24%) said they will start holiday shopping earlier than usual this year, while fewer (15%) said they will start shopping later.
Just more than a quarter (29%) of North Carolinians said they will spend less on the holidays this year, and two in five (42%) said they will spend about the same amount of money on the holidays this year compared to last year. Only about one-quarter (26%) of respondents said they will spend more than last year.
When asked how much they plan to spend, the poll found that a majority of North Carolina residents (56%) plan on spending less than $500 on gifts, food, decorations and other items related to celebrating the holidays. About a quarter (23%) said they will spend between $500 and $1,000. Only about one in 10 (11%) plan to spend between $1,000 and $2,000, and only 3% said they will spend more than $2,000.
“North Carolinians are split on whether this is a good year or a bad year to spend more to celebrate the holidays,” said Dr. Martin Kifer, chair of political science and director of the HPU Poll. “This is the kind of mixed feelings we have been seeing associated with a lot of economic activity.”
When asked about holiday stress compared to last year, half of respondents (50%) said their stress levels will be about the same as last year. About one-third (34%) said their holidays will be more stressful than last year, and only 10% said they will be less stressful than last year.
North Carolina Residents – Friday After Thanksgiving (November 2024)
As you may know, the Friday after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Looking ahead, do you personally plan on shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving, or not?
Yes – 36%
No – 49%
Unsure – 15%
North Carolina Residents – Most Holiday Shopping (November 2024)
Do you plan to do most of your holiday shopping in brick-and-mortar stores or online this year?
Brick-and-mortar stores – 16%
Online – 32%
Both equally – 40%
Unsure – 12%
North Carolina Residents – Cyber Monday (November 2024)
As you may know, the Monday after Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday and one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. Looking ahead, do you personally plan on shopping online during the Monday after Thanksgiving?
Yes – 46%
No – 30%
Unsure – 24%
North Carolina Residents – Friday or Monday Shopping (November 2024)
If you had to choose between the two, do you plan to do more shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving or Cyber Monday?
Friday after Thanksgiving – 24%
Cyber Monday – 40%
Neither – 25%
Unsure – 12%
North Carolina Residents – Holiday Spending (November 2024)
Thinking ahead to the holiday season, how much do you think that you will spend this year on gifts, food, decorations and other items related to your celebration of the holidays?
$100 or less – 17%
More than $100 but less than $500 – 40%
More than $500 but less than $1,000 – 23%
More than $1,000 but less than $2,000 – 11%
More than $2,000 – 3%
Unsure – 7%
North Carolina Residents – Holiday Spending (November 2024)
Do you think that you will spend more, less or about the same as last year on gifts, food, decorations and other items related to your celebration of the holidays?
More – 26%
Less – 29%
About the same – 42%
Unsure – 4%
North Carolina Residents – Holiday Shopping – Earlier or Later? (November 2024)
Do you think you will start holiday shopping earlier than usual, later than usual, or about the same time as any other year?
Earlier than usual – 24%
Later than usual – 15%
About the same time as any other year – 54%
Unsure – 6%
North Carolina Residents – Holiday Stress (November 2024)
Compared to last year, do you think the holiday season will be more stressful, less stressful or about the same as last year?
More stressful than last year – 34%
About the same as last year – 50%
Less stressful than last year – 10%
Unsure – 5%
HPU Poll 108 was fielded by the High Point University Survey Research Center on Nov. 14 through Nov. 21 as an online survey using a panel of respondents recruited and maintained by Dynata. Dynata sent invitations to its panel of N.C. respondents and the SRC collected 1,000 responses on its Qualtrics platform. The SRC did all data analysis. The online sample is from a panel of respondents, and their participation does not adhere to usual assumptions associated with random selection. Therefore, it is not appropriate to assign a classic margin of sampling error for the results. In this case, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points to account for a traditional 95% confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 3.1 percentage points) and a design effect of 1.05 (based on the weighting). The data is weighted toward population estimates for age, gender, race, and ethnicity based on U.S. Census numbers for North Carolina. Factors such as question wording and other methodological choices in conducting survey research can introduce additional errors into the findings of opinion polls. Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding.
Further results and methodological details from the most recent survey and past surveys can be found at the Survey Research Center website. Materials online include past press releases as well as memos summarizing the findings (including approval ratings) for each poll since 2010.
The HPU Poll reports methodological details in accordance with the standards set out by AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, and the HPU Survey Research Center is a Charter Member of the Initiative.
Dr. Martin Kifer, chair and associate professor of political science, serves as the director of the HPU Poll.