Survey: 38 percent will shop on Thanksgiving Day

New York--More than one-third of consumers say they are likely to hit the stores at some point on turkey day though many will wait until the pumpkin pie is served to do so, Accenture’s annual Holiday Shopping Survey shows.

According to the survey, which was conducted online earlier this fall, 38 percent of shoppers plan to shop on Thanksgiving this year, a day that became part of the holiday shopping season only in the past couple of years. The remaining 62 percent said they were unlikely (25 percent) or not at all likely (37 percent) to hit the stores on turkey day.

More than a third of those who say will they shop on Thanksgiving Day said they expect to visit four or more stores on that day, and 41 percent said they plan to shop between the hours of 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

Interestingly, Millenial consumers are the most likely to hit the stores this Thanksgiving for holiday shopping, according to Accenture’s survey.

More than half, 55 percent, of consumers ages 18 to 24 and 61 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds said that they are likely to shop on Thanksgiving, as compared to just 31 percent of those in the 45 to 59 age group.

Additionally, and perhaps surprisingly, 58 percent of those ages 18 to 24 who reported they would shop on Thanksgiving expect to do so in a brick-and-mortar store, rather than online.

Meanwhile, most of those in the age range of 45 to 59 who plan to shop on turkey day said they expect to make most of their holiday purchases online.

When it comes to Black Friday shopping, a larger proportion of shoppers this year, 30 percent, said they will do most of it online, compared with 25 percent in 2012.

Accenture’s study also found that the appeal of Black Friday as a major shopping event is the highest it’s been in five years: 55 percent of consumers said they will likely shop that day, compared to 53 percent last year and just 44 percent in 2011.

Accenture’s survey was conducted online in September and included 500 U.S. consumers. The full research report can be found here.