Consumer Reports: Two-in-5 consumers will be out shopping on Black Friday

YONKERS, N.Y. — Black Friday will just be an ordinary day for the 56% of Americans who plan to do no shopping at all, according to a Consumer Reports poll released Tuesday. Conversely, 44% intend to do some shopping, up significantly from the 30% who said they shopped for gifts during last year's Black Friday weekend. 

Among the top reasons Americans gave for wanting no part of shopping during Black Friday weekend were:

• Too many crowds (70%);


• The deals are overhyped (34%);


• I'd rather do something else (33%);


• I don't want to get up early (30%);


• I'd rather spend time with my family (29%);


• The deals are not usually very appealing to me (23%);


• I'm waiting to shop until after Black Friday (17%);


• I'd rather shop online (13%); and


• Stores might run out of specific products I want to buy (10%). 

Of those who do intend to shop this weekend, 69% will be venturing out to stores, while 58% will do so online, and 29% will shop both in-stores and online. Among the top reasons people gave for why they'll be shopping on Black Friday weekend were:

• Black Friday specials are the best deals of the year (55%);


• The door-buster deals (43%);


• It's tradition (23%);


• I enjoy the energy of the holiday shopping season (19%);


• I want to get items before they go out of stock (19%);


• It's the best time to get holiday shopping done (15%);


• I want to get my holiday shopping done all at once (12%);


• I want to take advantage of the time off work to shop (11%); and


• I enjoy the shopping competition (10%).

"Those who intend to go out shopping on Black Friday probably know what to expect, and to them that's part of the allure," said Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor and resident shopping expert. 

The Consumer Reports National Research Center designed a survey to explore general sentiment and shopping behaviors for the upcoming 2013 winter holiday season. In November 2013, GfK Custom Research administered the survey online to a nationally representative sample of more than 1,500 randomly selected adult residents in the United States. The median age was 45 years old, and 55% of the sample was female.