TVs And Toys Top Consumers’ Black Friday Shopping Lists

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With more and more sales during the holiday shopping season edging over to the digital side of retail, it’s hard to tell just how important purchases made on Black Friday really are to in-store merchants anymore. Despite that, underwhelming sales predictions aren’t good news by any means.

That’s what retailers are hearing from multiple outlets, including Nielsen. In a survey of 1,000 shoppers, 2 percent fewer people than in 2014 said they planned to spend their Fridays after Thanksgiving scouring the shelves of physical stores. In comparison, the number of shoppers with plans to go all out on Cyber Monday without leaving the comfort of their homes jumped 5 percent.

Naturally, the news seems to point to a reduction in net sales for traditional retailers on Black Friday, but that doesn’t have to be across the board. Stephen Baker, vice president of research firm NPD Group, told NBC News that electronics retailers, as usual, can expect strong traffic and sales as customers go for their big-ticket items.

“I think it’s been building to this for the past couple of years but clearly this year will be all about TV and especially 50-inch and above televisions,” Baker said. “They provide retailers a great vehicle to drive traffic.”

Baker explained that one of the major selling points for TV retailers is the incredible degree to which the market has segmented itself. While high-definition LED flat-panel TVs were going for thousands of dollars just a few years ago, shoppers can now snatch sets from top brands for a few hundred. However, for the big spenders, the emergence of 4K, ultra high-definition and curved screens has provided a premium product at premium prices.

Not to be outdone, the toy industry is also riding a strong wave of marketing from the upcoming Star Wars movie, and Nielsen research found that 90 percent of parents with children under 10 years old plan to eschew the smartphone-obsessed culture and instead scoop up low-tech toys for their kids this season.

“These are young children, these are families that are starting out,” James Russo, senior vice president of global consumer insights at Nielsen, told NBC News.

“You do see some of the traditional holiday gift giving items — books, arts and crafts, dolls, also blocks, board games — it’s this nice mix,” he said. “I would say that’s really driven by young families.”

Altogether, Nielsen data show that 42 percent of shoppers who do step out on Black Friday will do so in pursuit of toys, which is up from 34 percent who said the same in 2014.