Nevadans expected to spend $593M over Thanksgiving weekend
Expect to see local shoppers carrying more bags than last year this holiday season.
The Retail Association of Nevada estimates roughly 1.65 million adults in the state will be shopping over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Monday.
The trade organization projects total spending to reach $593 million over the holiday weekend, a nearly 6 percent increase from a year earlier. The average Nevadan is predicted to spend $360, compared with last year’s average of $350.
Of course, Black Friday is expected to be the busiest shopping day, with about 69 percent of shoppers surveyed planning to camp out or wake up at dawn to snag the best deals.
Cyber Monday will be the second-busiest day, with roughly 42 percent of shoppers planning on a virtual checkout.
Brian Haynes of Las Vegas-based research firm Applied Analysis said online sales are still a growing segment of the retail industry, but it still makes up a small proportion of total sales.
Roughly 84 percent of shoppers nationally surveyed by the International Council of Shopping Centers plan to spend time in a brick-and-mortar store between Thanksgiving Day and the following Sunday. Most customers will shop at large retail chains such as Walmart and Target, while 73 percent said they will visit traditional department stores. Meanwhile, 67 percent of shoppers said they will hit electronics stores for deals.
“The vast majority of retail sales are happening in stores, and we anticipate that to be the case here in Nevada as well,” Haynes said during a media call Tuesday.
Retailers with a strong strategy to engage with customers in stores and online are also likely to ring up more sales, according to Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of the Retail Association of Nevada.
“They’re reaching their customers wherever they are, whether it’s in the store, on social media, on their website. You’re going to see a lot of that, and those are the stores that are going to be immensely successful,” Wachter said.
The International Council of Shopping Centers found the most popular items this year are apparel and footwear, followed by electronics, toys and games.
Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter.