Black Friday's Here Again! Are You Prepared?

By Luis Artiz, Group Product Manager for Epson America’s point-of-sale (POS) solutions division

Your brick and mortar stores and website will hit record highs this weekend, here are five tips to ensure you and your customers find it to be the most wonderful time of the year.

Since 2005, the day after Thanksgiving has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, kicking off the holiday season which accounts for 30 percent of most retailers’ annual revenue. According to research from the National Retail Federation (NRF), holiday sales are expected to increase between 4.3 and 4.8 percent this year over 2017 and could reach nearly $721 billion.

Besides the statistics reflecting the big spending that’s about to take place, it’s interesting to see how shoppers’ habits are evolving in the Amazon era. More and more people are opting to avoid the big crowds and long lines, and they’re shopping online from the convenience of their couches and mobile devices. Thanksgiving day online shopping cart averages ($180) now surpass Black Friday shopping averages ($168), according to Criteo. While still recovering from a turkey feast, consumers can browse an infinite number of shelves and review and compare deals from a much broader range of retailers than they can visit in person.