Nearly 40% of Americans plan to cut their Black Friday spending this year, according to a new survey

• Nearly 2 in 5 Americans, or 37%, plan on reducing their budget for Black Friday shopping this year, according to a new survey.
• This comes as major retailers, such as Amazon and Target, have placed a larger emphasis on their online-shopping platforms.
• A separate study released in July showed that more than half of US consumers, or 58% of them, are ready to begin spending again in the fourth quarter of 2020.

With the holiday season around the corner, many Americans aren't planning to factor more Black Friday spending into their budget this year like they've done in years past.

Nearly 2 in 5 Americans, or 37% of US consumers, plan to reduce their budget for Black Friday shopping this year, according to a survey released Tuesday by market research firm Piplsay.

Of those consumers who plan to shop on Black Friday, which will take place Friday, Nov. 22 this year, 28% of those surveyed said they will shop the same as they did last year.

These results come in spite of the poll revealing that more than 1 out of 2 Americans, or 52%, remain excited about shopping the day after Thanksgiving. But as the novel coronavirus pandemic lingers, 49% of consumers surveyed said they intend to conduct their shopping online.

More than 30,000 Americans were polled nationwide from October 9 through 11 for the survey.

"COVID-19 and the focus on social distancing are fast changing the face of Black Friday as we know it," Piplsay wrote. "With major retailers like Amazon and Target holding their mega sale just a month prior and several others jump-starting holiday sales early, Black Friday seems to be slowly losing its clout as the official kickoff day for holiday shopping."

In July, analysts predicted that retailers across the country would be "more targeted and creative in their approach" to get consumers to spend their money this Black Friday. Walmart announced over the summer that it would be closing its doors on Thanksgiving, which will effectively end its company-wide tradition of beginning Black Friday with a plethora of in-store sales.

E-commerce company Amazon just kicked off its Amazon Prime Day 2020, which was delayed due to the pandemic, spanning October 13-14 and offering sales and discounts on a wide variety of products. Prime Day this year represents a $7.5 billion opportunity for the company, which would be a 42% increase over last year, according to JPMorgan.

And consumers aren't just taking their online shopping to Amazon; Target saw its digital sales grow 282% annually in April as more shoppers stay at home.

But as the holiday season approaches, Americans are increasingly ready to go shopping again as 2020 comes to a close.

A separate study in July conducted by OpenX and The Harris Poll showed that more than half of US consumers, or 58% of them, are ready to begin spending again in the fourth quarter of 2020. Even though that means the remaining 42% of adults are not seeking to increase their spending late this year, holiday retail sales might actually climb.

Deloitte is forecasting that year-over-year holiday retail sales will increase between 1% and 1.5%.

"While high unemployment and economic anxiety will weigh on overall retail sales this holiday season, reduced spending on pandemic-sensitive services such as restaurants and travel may help bolster retail holiday sales somewhat," Daniel Bachman, Deloitte's US-based economic forecaster, said. "E-commerce is likely to be a big winner because consumers have shown a clear movement towards buying online rather than at brick and mortar stores."