Although shopper traffic was down from 2013, a survey by the National Retail Federation concluded that Small Business Saturday continues to gain traction.
Overall holiday traffic on the November 30 event declined to 5.2% from 2013, with 133.7 million unique holiday shoppers, versus 141.1 million last year. However, more than 75% of respondents said that they shopped on Saturday specifically because of SBA.
The average shopper spent $380.95 over the weekend, down 6.4% from 2013. Total spending is expected to reach $50.9 billion, down from last year’s estimated $57.4 billion.
Online shopping also declined in the days leading up to Cyber Monday. The average person spent $159.55 online over the weekend, or 41.9% of their total budget, down 10.2% from $177.67 in 2013.
“A strengthening economy that changes consumers’ reliance on deep discounts, a highly competitive environment, early promotions, and the ability to shop 24/7 online all contributed to the shift witnessed this weekend,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.
