Black Friday 2011: Shopping Holiday Will Attract Military Families
A recent survey found that military families are more likely to hit Black Friday deals than the rest of the United States population.
First Command Financial Behaviors Index surveyed approximately 530 consumers. Families of active military personnel made up 37 percent of the voters, while the general population consisted of 27 percent.
The results reported that 43 percent of middle-class military families are planning to participate in Black Friday sales, compared to 36 percent of the general population planning to shop during Black Friday.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
“While frugal holiday shopping plans are common throughout the Middle Class, consumers in the general population do not plan to cut their spending as deeply as military shoppers,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc.
“Service members and their families are more likely to cut back in general, and their intention to aggressively hit the stores on the day after Thanksgiving is yet another sign of their frugal approach to spending,” he added.
While many argue that military families are more seasoned in the art of budget shopping, critics stipulate other factors contributed to the survey’s results.
Bloomberg for the Washington Post made a correlation between the survey and the upcoming release of military videogame “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.”
The videogame will be released in the U.S. at midnight on Nov. 8. Critics suspect that the standard version’s cost of $60 will be reduced as a Black Friday deal.
Critics question if in light of the recent survey, if sellers tend to cater more to the military family market.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the official mark to America’s Christmas shopping season. Many stores offer promotional sales to lure customers and jump start holiday revenue. This year, the annual shopping holiday falls on Nov. 25.
Stores, such as Best Buy and Target, are upping the ante this year and opening their doors at midnight to satiate the demands of eager shoppers.
