NEW YORK—The retail industry received some mixed news regarding their performance this Black Friday weekend.
This year, more consumers participated in post-Thanksgiving shopping, a latest retail industry survey found. But shoppers typically spent less than last year.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), an industry trade group, estimated that 195 million shoppers hit the stores over Black Friday weekend, up from 172 million in 2008. However, the average spending per household dropped from $372.57 a year ago to $343.31 in 2009, signaling that consumers are being more selective and seeking deals.
“Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain, heading out to take advantage of great deals on less expensive items like toys, small appliances, and winter clothes,” said NRF President Tracy Mullin in a statement.
While there is more traffic, many retailers may be disheartened by the lack of spending. NRF found that more shoppers targeted chain department stores than prior years, boosting the prospects of retailers such as Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc.
“While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas,” she continued. “Shoppers can continue to expect retailers to focus on low prices and bargains through the end of December.”
More consumers targeted lower-priced items such as $10 toy deals and books.
“During a more robust economy, people may be inclined to hit the snooze button on Black Friday, but high unemployment and a focus on price caused shoppers to visit stores early in anticipation of the best deals,” said Phil Rist, vice president at BIGresearch.
Shoppers started early on Black Friday, with many retailers reporting lines forming as early as 3 a.m. NFS found that nearly one-third of all shoppers lined up outside stores by 5 a.m., almost a 10 percent increase from last year. Most shoppers aimed at a few specific bargains and refrained from purchasing other products.
Investors will get a better picture of the U.S. retail industry when the November retailers report comes out on Thursday.
Cyber Monday Eyed
Nov. 3 was the busiest online shopping day of the year, dubbed “Cyber Monday” for the sheer number of online retailers participating in the one-day shopping event.
Traditionally a day for online technology retailers, department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers have also joined the fray. For example, Sears.com—the Web site of the Sears department store—gave online shoppers 25 percent off shoes and 40 percent off Fisher-Price toys on Monday.
Shop.org predicted that online traffic among retailers hit a record 96.5 million on Monday. Shop.org coined the term “Cyber Monday” five years ago and has tracked online shopping ever since.
But this year, online retailers didn’t wait until Cyber Monday—most offered their best deals on Black Friday, in an effort to compete with stores.
"Black Friday, better known as a shopping bonanza in brick-and-mortar retail stores, is increasingly becoming one of the landmark days in the online holiday shopping world," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni, in a statement. ConScore is a leading market research firm.
"The $595 million in online spending this Black Friday represents the second heaviest online spending day of the season-to-date and a double-digit increase from last year.”
