The clock is counting down on the holiday season. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are this week and that means companies around the country are ready with big sales.
The average American will spend more than $800 this holiday season — that’s up about 17 percent from 2010, according to American Express Spending & Saving Tracker.
Significantly more people said they will be shopping on Black Friday. About 35 percent of those polled said they would be surfing the web on Cyber Monday — up from 20 percent in 2010.
Almost half of consumers said they plan to shop online this holiday season, according to another report, Deloitte’s Annual Holiday Survey.
The Internet is now tied for 1st place as the top shopping destination. Discount stores share the top spot.
And it’s not just young people. Consumers of all ages said they planned to do about a third of their shopping online.
“Social media will play a big role in how shoppers follow company sales announcements this holiday season,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch, as part of a report by the National Retail Federation. “From Facebook to Twitter and even group buying sites, ‘social’ retailers may be rewarded this season in terms of additional holiday sales.”
More than 17 percent of those polled said they will keep an eye on companies’ Facebook pages with just over 11 percent eying sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, according to the NRF.