• Time, Thursday, December 1, 2011 10:35 AM

There are still nearly four weeks before Christmas. Here are some predictions based on Black Friday through Cyber Monday:

Consumers like the idea of shopping at midnight on Thanksgiving creating the biggest day for Black Friday sales ever. It will become standard practice. Consumers like shopping (from home) on Thanksgiving Day, too. The market research firm comScore reports that online retail sales totaled $479 million on Thanksgiving Day 2011, up 18% from last year’s Turkey Day e-commerce tally. Younger consumers and men are more likely to shop late at night.

The New York Times reports that 18- to 34-year-olds who went shopping on Black Friday were far more likely than 35- to 54-year-olds to be in stores by midnight—36.7% vs. 23.5%, respectively. Men were also more likely to shop on Thanksgiving night as opposed to the pre-dawn of Black Friday. Even after splurging in stores, consumers will splurge online. A slight lull in Cyber Monday spending would have been understandable. Instead, according to a MarketWatch report, early online sales for Cyber Monday were up 30% compared to the year before. Credit card use appears to be on the rise. Javelin Strategy & Research says credit card use among consumers is on a comeback roll.

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