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Study: One in Three to Brave Black Friday

One in three shoppers (34 percent) plan to shop in stores on “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, while 61 percent plan to avoid stores. Of those planning to stay away from the malls, 10 percent used words like “crazy,” “madhouse,” “hectic,” and “insane” to describe the experience.

Almost a third of those who do plan to hit the stores on Black Friday say they will spend more than $875 on gifts this season, while 17 percent plan to spend over $1,000, according to a poll from Maritz Research Inc. Forty-four percent of those with household incomes between $75,000 and $100,000 plan to shop on Black Friday.

The majority of Gen Y respondents (58 percent), as well as a significant portion of Gen X (40 percent), planning to shop.

Shoppers brave Black Friday for good deals on gifts, with 77 percent citing sales, low prices and bargains as the reason they shop on that day. Tradition and custom trailed far behind, with only 9 percent, as the second most popular reason for Black Friday shopping.

Wal-Mart                is the top store that respondents plan to hit, at 68 percent, followed by Target                 at 54 percent. Best Buy               should see 46 percent of shoppers, with K-Mart, Sears, Circuit City and Kohl’s                following.

Macy’s                (24 percent), RadioShack              (20 percent) and Victoria’s Secret          (18 percent) round out the top 10, followed by American Eagle Outfitters, Apple Store/iTunes, Williams-Sonoma, Zales, Kay, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, Hollister, Tiffany, and Urban Outfitters.

The poll, conducted Oct. 6 - 17, 2006, features responses from 1,192 randomly selected adults from a web panel survey on topics related to holiday shopping, buying behaviors and gift-giving trends. Respondents for this poll were split evenly between males and females.

BizRate’s 2006 eHoliday Mood Survey showed that one in five retailers expect growth of 75 percent or more over last year.