Winter Holidays

The power of digital Black Friday shoppers is officially a force to be reckoned with.   Of the 135.9 million U.S.-based consumers that shopped or plan to shop over the entire 2016 Black Friday Week, 57% shopped online. Almost four out of every 10 digital shoppers (37%) used a mobile device (such as a smart phone or tablet). Besides being an increase of seven percentage points, this customer segment is quickly approaching the number of desktop and laptop shoppers.  

Average spending per person over Thanksgiving weekend totaled $289.19, down from $299.60 last year, according to a survey conducted by National Retail Federation.  

Confession:  I’ve long been a self-proclaimed anti-Black Friday shopper. But when Target’s “Early Access Black Friday” email hit my inbox first thing Wednesday morning, Nov. 23, I went over to the dark side.  

Sales on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, are on track to rise 9.4% to $3.36 billion, according to Adobe Digital Insights.      Industry experts noted that while Cyber Monday is traditionally the biggest online shopping day of the year, it may be losing some of its luster in the wake of the most sucessful online Black Friday to date.  This year, online sales totaled $3.3 billion the day after Thanksgiving.  

When it comes to holiday inventory, most retailers use their intuition and industry knowledge to make their sales projections, plan their promotional calendar, and schedule product reorders. This was fine when the season’s promotions were merely percentages off and customers purchased products in stores. But as the retail world becomes more complex, so too must retailers’ holiday plans. With an estimated 40% of retailers’ yearly profits on the line, intuition this holiday season just isn’t enough.  

Online spending hit a new record this past Black Friday, surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time.   According to Adobe, Black Friday online spending surged 21.6%  year-over-year to $3.34 billion. Total online spending for both Thanksgiving and Black Friday hit $5.27 billion, reflecting a 17.7% increase over last year.  

  The Fung Global Retail & Technology team visited 35 stores throughout the Greater New York City area and Las Vegas on Black Friday for a first-hand view on traffic and sales.  Here are their top five takeaways from their store visits:  Cyber Monday Starts Early for Walmart:  Walmart kicked off its Cyber Monday deals at 12:01am EST on Friday for the first time ever, as it aims to grab customers ahead of its competitors. Last year, the company posted its Cyber Monday deals on the Sunday evening following Thanksgiving.

More Amazon Prime shoppers skipped the Black Friday hype this weekend than ever before.   Only 59% of Prime members ended up shopping in-store on Black Friday, down from 65% last year. This drop represented a 9.2% year-over-year decline.   This message was delivered in a survey conducted by InfoScout. The study, which was conducted the day after Black Friday, tapped 2,000 shoppers.