The number of shoppers who are ready to take on Black Friday sales is expected to grow this Thanksgiving. According to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, 166 million people are expected to go shopping between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday this year. 

According to the survey, 69 percent of shoppers will hit the stores during Thanksgiving weekend. Holiday shoppers say there are a variety of factors driving their desire to shop this weekend, with 59 percent saying the deals are too good to pass up. Meanwhile, 27 percent say they are shopping because it is tradition and 22 percent say it is simply something to do over the holiday.

“While there is much speculation about inflation’s impact on consumer behavior, our data tells us that this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will see robust store traffic with a record number of shoppers taking advantage of value pricing,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. “We are optimistic that retail sales will remain strong in the weeks ahead, and retailers are ready to meet consumers however they want to shop with great products at prices they want to pay.”

The most popular day to shop remains Black Friday, with 114 million Americans planning to do their shopping on this day. Another 38 percent say they will do their shopping on Cyber Monday. Shoppers continue to do their shopping in person, with 67 percent saying they will be doing their shopping in store, up from 64 percent in 2021. 

“While consumers continue to save the bulk of their holiday shopping for later in November and December, some of that spending has shifted into October,” Prosper executive vice president of Strategy Phil Rist said. “This year, 18 percent of holiday shoppers have completed at least half of their holiday shopping. While this is on par with last year, it is up from only 11 percent a decade ago.”

Most people start their shopping journey online with 43 percent of respondents saying they get their gift inspiration from online searches. The top gift categories this year included clothing at 55 percent, gift cards at 45 percent, toys at 37 percent and video games at 33 percent. Candy came in at 31 percent in popularity for holiday shoppers.