Black Friday 2011 to see lowest turnout in Stores in three Years says Accenture

Every year before the Holiday shopping season lots of surveys and studies try to predict how shoppers will behave and how good the business will be for retailers. It is very difficult ot predict how the outcome will be as it depends on things like even the weather. One such study comes from Accenture. According to the report 72% of U.S. consumers expect their holiday spending to be 'careful' or 'controlled' in 2011.

"This holiday season will see the balance of power continue to tip in favor of the consumer," said Janet Hoffman, managing director of Accenture's Retail practice. "'Precision shoppers' will dominate. They will be very targeted about where and what they buy, and will be more inclined to shop around for the best value. Stores should focus on providing an experience and services that create a sense of extra value in the mind of the shopper. The research data, and our conversations with clients, leads us to expect a boost from high income shoppers who are planning to treat themselves and their families."

The importance of Black Friday also continued to slide downwards with the results suggesting that this year's turnout at stores could be the lowest in three years. 44% of consumers say that they are likely to shop on Black Friday, compared to 47% in 2010, and 52% in 2009. Of course more and more consumers shop online for Black Friday deals. This is also supported by the report. The number of consumers shopping online (66% vs. 69% in 2010. Interestingly, the number of shoppers expecting to buy more than half of their holiday gifts online rose significantly to 59% from 41% in 2010. There will be also less people camping out on Black Friday 2011, because Black Friday is going on the whole month of November. It showed in the past that a lot of deals have been better the weeks before Black Friday.

The Accenture study also confirms the growing trend of shoppers using their smartphones in the stores to compare prices. Of those using a mobile or smartphone for their shopping this year, 54% will use the device to compare prices while in a store, and one third (35%) of tablet computer users do the same.

We will again provide you with complete coverage of Black Friday including buying guides, deal analyses, Black Friday Ads and more in our Black Friday Hub. New this year is our new site Black Friday Countdown. Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with exclusive predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. We also have one more thing coming for Black Friday that will make your Black Friday shopping much easier and more efficient. We will launch this new Black Friday shopping service very soon!

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