Black Friday Sales Skipped by Most New Jerseyans but Shoppers Preferred to Purchase Online, Rutgers Poll Finds
Large opposition to stores opening on Thanksgiving Day
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – ‘Tis the season to be shopping, but apparently most New Jerseyans were not in the shopping mood on Black Friday. Fewer than four in 10 residents took advantage of sales and savings on what is supposed to be the busiest shopping day of the year, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Numbers were even weaker for Cyber Monday, as just a quarter of Garden State residents made online purchases that day.
Among Black Friday weekend shoppers, Internet buying was preferred to brick-and-mortar visits: 40 percent did all their shopping online, while just a third shopped in-person. About a quarter spent money both ways. While some of the state’s shoppers report spending almost $15,000 during the weekend, others limited themselves to window shopping. Most, however, say they spent a few hundred dollars, with $320 reported as the median expenditure.
“For all the hype, Black Friday weekend, including Cyber Monday, may have been somewhat of a bust here, reflecting national reports that spending was down,” said Ashley Koning, manager of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. “It may be that as many stores now stretch their sales throughout the entire holiday season, Black Friday no longer is anticipated as it once was. Moreover, the greater emphasis on online shopping reflects a growing trend of avoiding the lines at the local mall. Shoppers opt instead to purchase presents with the click of a mouse.”
Whether they shopped on Black Friday or not, New Jerseyans are largely opposed to starting sales early on Thanksgiving Day. Eighty-one percent say stores should have remained closed so employees could spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones, while 12 percent support early openings. Only 6 percent of respondents admit to shopping on Thanksgiving.
Results are from a statewide poll of 750 residents contacted by live callers on both landlines and cell phones from Dec. 3-10, 2014, with a margin of error of +/-4.0 percentage points.
For the entire poll, click here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: ATTENTION POLITICAL, ASSIGNMENT EDITORS, Director David Redlawsk may be contacted at 319-400-1134 (cell), 848-932-8504 (office), or redlawsk@rutgers.edu. Poll manager Ashley Koning may be contacted at 908-872-1186 or akoning@rutgers.edu. Questions and tables are available at: http://eagletonpoll.rutgers.edu/rep-black-friday. Visit our blog at http://eagletonpollblog.wordpress.com for additional commentary. Follow the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RutgersEagletonPoll and Twitter @EagletonPoll.