Black Friday Shopping: Love It or Hate it? Survey Results May Surprise You

The assumption is millions of Americans will take to the stores to grab early-morning deals on Black Friday, but a new survey shows a huge number of people may be staying home instead.

Out of 1,200 people polled, more than half told Survata, a consumer survey group, that they would rather eat turkey leftovers than fight holiday crowds.

Black Friday crowds can be intimidating -- and more than half of the survey participants told Survata they would rather stay home than shop in stores after Thanksgiving (Image source: AP)

When asked "What is the likelihood you are going to shop in-person on Black Friday?" 54 percent of the group said they were "very unlikely" to leave the house, while 11 percent said they were "very likely" to compete for the early bird specials.

"Black Friday is a polarizing topic," Chris Kelly, co-founder of Survata, told TheBlaze. "Many people oppose the trend of stores starting their big sales on Thanksgiving Day.  Fifty-five percent of respondents gave a 1/10 rating for their agreement with this statement, "Stores should open on Thanksgiving for early Black Friday sales."

According to the National Retail Federation – the largest US industry retail group – Americans will spend 4.1 percent more during November and December sales times, and they are expecting a three-year high of roughly $617 billion in sales.

But respondents to the Survata survey are likely part of the group that will increase 2014 online sales by 16 percent from last year, since the vast majority of those quizzed said they do not want to visit stores in person. According to the Financial Times, this year's online sales are expected to top $60 billion.

(Image source: Survata)

Kelly said if shoppers are determined to brave the crowds, they plan to wake up well before dawn to get an edge on the other bargain hunters.

"If shoppers plan on hitting Black Friday sales, they plan on doing so early.  Thirty percent of respondents who said they planned on shopping in-person on Black Friday planned on starting before 6 am," Kelly said.

Survata pegged three age groups for the question; 13-24 year olds were "surprisingly the most likely to state they plan on shopping in-person on Black Friday," Kelly said. The survey results showed those between the ages of 25 and 44 were the least likely to leave the house.

Kelly said across all the age groups, Walmart was the store people said they were most likely to visit for holiday deals. And despite having a huge credit card scam that affected 40 million shoppers, Target was still a favorite across all age groups, coming in as the second store most likely to be shopped on Black Friday.

What about you? Will you brave the stores on Black Friday, or try to get most of your gifts online?

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