U.S. Sales Rise 8.3% on Black Friday

Shoppers were wooed by American retailers by announcing colossal holiday price cuts. The U.S. consumers reciprocated happily and spent as much as $10.3 billion on holiday purchases, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to the last year figure.

Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, said, "It's an extraordinary number, beyond what we anticipated. I think there was pent-up demand given the slow sales in October and November because of unseasonably warm weather, and people want to find value for their dollar and reacted to the specials."

The increase in sales has happened against the run of play as oil prices continue to rise and other economic pressures persist to bog consumers. The day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is called Black Friday because many retailers, who depend on the holiday season for much of their profits and "break into the black" for the year.

Characteristically on this day, sales account for between 4.5 percent and 5 percent of all holiday sales. Projecting slow sales for the weekend, anxious retailers had started cutting prices earlier than ever to attract customers.

Daniel Morales, a spokesman for Wal-Mart explained the move, "I think with the energy crunch, a lot of people are looking for these prices and are really counting on the lower prices for Black Friday."

There was also an increase in traffic to Internet retail sites like eBay Inc and subsidiaries Shopping.com and Paypal on Black Friday. The handiness of online shopping resulted in an increase in shopping on Thanksgiving Day itself.

Howard Davidowitz, chairman of consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates Inc. claimed that the best deals are yet to come. He said, "You've got to move product. And retailers are on a terrible sales trend, so there is no choice but to sell the inventory at what you can sell it at."

With the Black Friday’s outpouring of customers, retailers can heave a sigh of relief. However, they need to be cautious at the same time and observe if customers prolong their shopping spree throughout the holiday season.