“We recognize the Thanksgiving weekend shopping experience is much different than it used to be as just as many people want that unique, exclusive online deal as they do that in-store promotion”, NRF CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
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Many consumers remain focused on discounts. Additionally, online sales have witnessed a considerable uptrend.
However, early surveys indicate that it may not have been a spectacular weekend.
As many Americans bought online as they did in physical stores during the Thanksgiving weekend shopping splurge, the National Retail Federation said Sunday, highlighting a growing trend away from the traditional Black Friday consumer assault.
Thanksgiving Day 2015 grossed an estimated $1.76 billion in sales, which is a 12.5 percent decrease versus 2014; Black Friday 2015 garnered an estimated $10.21 billion in sales, which is an estimated 11.9 percent decrease versus 2014.
The trade association expects total holiday sales to increase 3.7 percent in November and December from a year earlier.
On Saturday, analytics firm RetailNext published a projection of traffic and sales for Thanksgiving and Black Friday based on transaction data. Social buzz, which examines how many consumers posted about retailers and Black Friday or related terms, rose about 25%, the Adobe report finds.
Customers spent about $124 on average. Over the weekend retailers, on average, increased their Facebook ad spending 91% year over year, according to a report by advertising vendor Nanigans. Best Buy Co. BBY was selling quadcopter drones at a $200 discount.
Diane Boral, 33, from Oxnard, California, scoured sites for deals ranging from 20 percent to 75 percent off and ended up buying toys, games and clothes at Kohl’s site, which offered free shipping and 20 percent off.
Kevin Sandoval had never gone shopping on Black Friday, but he was lured by a Sam’s Club TV deal – $100 off a 55-inch television.
“I compared the items to prices at Macy’s and Toys R Us, and Kohl’s had a lower total price”, she said. For October 2015 sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services – the so-called core retail sales figure – rose 0.2 percent from a year earlier. Second, a large chunk of purchases has moved to the online domain. Controversial Thanksgiving Day store openings also affected the weekend, with labor groups petitioning stores and retailers such as REI deciding to close on Black Friday. That’s 14 percent higher than a year ago. “Mobile sales also reached a sales volume record with $799 million of online spending coming from a smartphone or tablet”, said Adobe Digital Index analyst Tamara Gaffney. EBAY and Amazon.com, Inc.
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At first blush, the sales numbers were dismal. Retailers using multiple sales channels have also met with substantial success.
