Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Once-enormous Black Friday lines are shrinking. Photo: Hector Mata/AFP/Getty
Americans are spendings less and less money in brick-and-mortar stores during the run-up to the holidays, shunning the crazy lines they once formed outside big-box stores on Black Friday.
The big picture: Shoppers plan to spend 57% of their budgets online but just 36% in physical stores, per a new Deloitte survey. Just 44% of shoppers say they will shop on Black Friday as much as in past holiday seasons, while 53% say they will rely on Cyber Monday as much as they have in the past.
The big picture: For many Americans, the idea of one big shopping spree coinciding with a work holiday is fading, yet at the same time they have higher holiday budgets.
- The average shopper plans to spend $525 on gifts — 20% more than the average $430 in 2017.
The steady decline of Black Friday is a victim of online shopping for gifts, says Rod Sides, the head of retail at Deloitte.
- E-commerce is saving customers several trips to the mall, allowing them to shop 24/7 — and from anywhere. "Five years ago, mobile commerce was in the teens," Sides says.
- This year, Deloitte found that 67% of online shoppers will make purchases on their phones.
- Brick-and-mortar stores also are realizing they can earn more money by extending Black Friday deals for a week or longer, Sides adds.
But e-commerce giants are not the only ones profiting from this sea change. Traditional retailers — especially clothes shops — are still making a killing before Christmas, but the bulk of their sales are moving to the web, according to Deloitte.
The bottom line: One reason e-commerce thrives during the holidays is that gift shopping is often easier online, according to Sides. "If I'm buying for folks in my extended family, I don't know what size they wear anyway. So I might as well buy online and take my best guess."