Money Matters, Simplified.
Rise in Black Friday spendings 'slight'
by Neka Sehgal - November 29, 2009 - comments
Preliminary reports of the traditional shopping spree show strong crowds thronging stores but the number of sales is just marginally higher from last year
New York, November 29 -- Despite the expected din created by “Black Friday” with larger crowds thronging the stores than last year, the retailers are disappointed by the sales which were a little lackluster.
While the official numbers shall be released Sunday, preliminary reports of the traditional shopping spree are not heartening.
Data compiled by ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks sales at more than 50,000 stores, indicates that shoppers seeking bargains spent $10.66 billion on the day after Thanksgiving, merely 0.5 percent more than last year.
Nevertheless, Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, finds the slight rise in sales a good signal.
He declared, "We've seen a gradual retail sales increase over the last two weeks and with Black Friday's performance it looks like November will be a positive month for retailers compared to last year which is an encouraging sign.”
Surge in online purchasing
Though Black Friday sales were just barely up, web purchasing was the real winner. On-line retailers were a busy bunch with consumers preferring to shop from home rather than braving the cold.
According to the research of Web marketing analyst Coremetrics, the average amount online shoppers spent on Black Friday rose 35 percent. Consumers spent around $170.19 per order, a rise from $126.04 of the previous year. Apparel retailers benefited most from this surge.
According to tracking firm Hitwise, Wal-Mart Stores Inc's site was the most popular retail site on Thanksgiving, followed by Amazon.com Inc. and Best Buy Inc.
In addition, shop-by-television sales were also popular at the TV shopping network QVC, which revealed its Black Friday sales as $32 million, a spurt of nearly 60 percent from last year.
There was also a bigger use of mobile phones by consumers on Black Friday to make purchases.
Shoppers wary after recession
Although the Black Friday sales are encouraging, analysts are not too optimistic for the retailers through the holiday season.
The shoppers are still wary after facing the recession, with the economy still on the mend and rate of unemployment high. The financial pressures are weighing on the mind of the lay man who would rather save than spend.
Bryan Eshelman, managing director of the retail practice at consulting firm Alix Partners stated, "Consumers are not only looking for deals this year, but promotions must zero in on what they want. General discounts just don't seem to be doing it."