The Business Side of Thanksgiving in Two Minutes

Today we’re going to breakdown some of the most important data and facts revolving around the business side of the holiday.

Let’s start with the dinner itself. The Wednesday before thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for most grocers across the U.S. simply because of the demand for turkey. Hence the name ‘Turkey Wednesday’.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the price of a turkey dropped by 91 cents this year compared to last. Its survey also noted that the average American Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost $48.90, up one cent from last year.

Most of the shopping though will once again take place on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, the National Retail Federation forecasts that 165.3 million people are likely to shop between Thursday and Monday.

The shopping will be done almost evenly between e-commerce and in-store, according to the NRF, with 47 percent preferring bricks-and-mortar and 41 percent checking out online.

The NRF estimates that total sales will increase between 3.8 and 4.2 percent from last year, for a total in the range of $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion.

After all the feasting and shopping millions of Americans will be ending their holiday week at the airport. In fact, a record amount of people will be doing so in the U.S.

Airlines for America projects that 31.6 million passengers will fly on U.S. airlines from November 22 to December 3, up 3.7 percent from last year.

The trade association says U.S. airlines are adding 859 flights per day to accommodate the additional 93,000 daily passengers.

So, if you’re cooking, shopping or traveling this Thanksgiving, plan accordingly!