Black Friday Sales Down 11 Percent
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
NRF credits drop to early discounts, higher online shopping, and a mixed economy.
According to NRF’s Thanksgiving Weekend Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 2014 saw 55.1 percent of holiday shoppers in stores and online over Thanksgiving weekend, down from 58.7 percent last year. Total shopper traffic from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, November 30 dropped 5.2 percent from 2013 (133.7 million unique holiday shoppers versus 141.1 million in 2013). Total shopping, including multiple trips by the same shopper, was also down this weekend (233.3 million versus 248.6 million).
“A strengthening economy that changes consumers’ reliance on deep discounts, a highly competitive environment, early promotions and the ability to shop 24/7 online all contributed to the shift witnessed this weekend,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in the release. “We are excited to be witnessing an evolutionary change in holiday shopping by both consumers and retailers, and expect this trend to continue in the years ahead.”
The survey found that the average shopper spend was $380.95, down 6.4 percent from $407.02 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $50.9 billion, down from last year’s estimated $57.4 billion. Additionally, more than three-quarters say they took advantage of retailers’ online and in-store promotions to buy non-gift items for themselves or their family, similar to last year’s 76.4 percent.
Although the overall number of shoppers was down, the survey also found that Black Friday is still the peak shopping day of the weekend, with 86.9 million shopping in store or online. 43.1 million, or 32.2 percent, reported shopping on Thanksgiving Day, compared to last year’s 31.8 percent. Half of shoppers made their purchases Saturday and one-quarter on Sunday. Full three-quarters of those who shopped Saturday said they participated in Small Business Saturday.
The results could show that “there are a significant number of Americans out there for whom the recession is not yet over,” Matthew Shay, the group’s president and chief executive told the New York Times.
The early numbers suggest that there will be a grueling struggle for year-end sales among the nation’s retailers, Mr. Shay acknowledged.
“It’s going to be a dogfight for the entire season every day, every minute,” he said. “Holiday sales are now a marathon, not a sprint.”
Meanwhile, Target Corp (TGT.N) CEO Brian Cornell told Reuters he was encouraged by early indicators for a holiday season that "has moved from an event on Black Friday morning to a multi-day event."
"The consumer clearly enjoys shopping on Thanksgiving," Cornell said, and noted the retailer was selling 1,800 televisions per minute nationwide between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
The Huffington Post reported that Wal-Mart reported Thanksgiving sales as its second-highest online sales day ever after last year's Cyber Monday. Cornell said Target rang up a record day of online sales on Thursday.
Overall Thanksgiving Day online sales rose 14.3 percent from a year earlier, according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark.
Before the sluggish Black Friday numbers, the National Retail Federation had projected that overall sales for November and December will rise 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion. If that were true, it would mark the highest holiday sales in three years. Holiday sales grew 3.1 percent in 2013.