Younger Internet Users More Likely to Shop on Black Friday, Cyber Monday

Nearly two in five US internet users plan to shop on Black Friday this year, and even more respondents to September research said they plan to shop on Cyber Monday. Younger internet users are more likely to shop on both of these big holiday shopping days than older users.

Indeed, nearly half (47%) of internet users ages 18 to 44 surveyed by ad tech firm Fluent said they plan to shop on Black Friday. And nearly as many said they plan to shop on Cyber Monday.

Their older counterparts, on the other hand, were less likely to shop on either day—and they preferred Cyber Monday to Black Friday. Some 36% of internet users ages 45 and older said they plan to shop on Cyber Monday, and fewer respondents said they plan to do so on Black Friday.

By the end of October, more than half of US internet users will have begun to cross items off their holiday shopping lists. Research from Epsilon suggests that this month is the tipping point, with the remaining 41% of shoppers beginning in November or later.

Many internet users will be shopping digitally during the holiday season. Separate research from Market Track and Qualtrics found that just over half of US internet users surveyed said they planned to shop digitally on Black Friday this year. That compared with 45% who would shop in stores the same day. While shoppers do still head to malls and main streets on the day after Thanksgiving, digital shopping is now even more likely to be part of their post-holiday routine.