The five-day US Thanksgiving holiday weekend witnessed 197 million shoppers in the US, just below the record numbers of the same period in 2023, according to data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics.  

The record turnout surpassed the NRF's forecast of 183.4 million shoppers and is second only to 2023's peak of 200.4 million. 

The NRF, which considers the period from 1 November to 31 December as the holiday season, predicts that 2024 holiday spending will hit new highs with an increase of between 2.5% and 3.5% over the previous year, potentially reaching up to $989bn.  

The survey, involving 3,055 adult consumers and conducted between 27 November and 1 December, indicates a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points. 

Over the Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday weekend, in-store shopping saw a rise with 126 million consumers, from 2023's 121.4 million, while online shopping dipped to 124.3 million from 134.2 million in the previous year.  

Black Friday continued to dominate as the preferred day for both in-store and online shopping, with in-store shoppers reaching a post-pandemic high of 81.7 million. 

Saturday ranked as the second busiest day for in-store shopping, attracting 61.1 million consumers.  

Cyber Monday maintained its status as a significant online shopping day despite a drop in numbers to 64.4 million from 2023's 73.1 million, with mobile shopping reaching an all-time high. 

Department stores and online retailers were the top shopping destinations, each drawing 42% of consumers.  

This was followed by grocery stores at 40%, clothing and accessory stores at 37% and discount stores at 32%.  

Despite sales promotions before the weekend, consumers remained focused on purchasing holiday gifts, with an average gift spend of $235 – an increase from the previous year.  

The most popular gifts purchased were clothing and accessories, favoured by 49% of respondents, followed by toys at 31%, gift cards at 27%, food, chocolate and sweets at 23%, and personal care and beauty products also at 23%. 

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said: “Thanksgiving weekend retains its prominence among holiday spending events and continues to play a significant role in the holiday season for both consumers and retailers.  

“Even with this year’s shortened shopping period and the multitude of early sales promotions from retailers, this past weekend exceeded expectations in terms of the sheer volume of shoppers.”