Brick-and-mortar sales soar in spring

San Jose – Brick-and-mortar retail sales soared during this past spring, according to new metrics from RetailNext. Using its in-store analytics platform to collect metrics on millions of shopping trips to department stores and specialty retailers nationwide, RetailNext studied and released its analysis of traffic, conversion, sales, and average transaction values (ATV) for the spring season, including the four holidays of Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and Father’s Day, as well as the days leading up to Father’s Day and Easter Sunday.



Following is a summary of the findings:



Easter Week (3/24 – 3/30): The week preceding Easter saw more traffic than a typical week’s pattern, peaking on Friday, March 29, when shopper traffic hit a 47% increase compared to a typical Friday. Easter Sunday itself saw sharp declines in traffic and sales (off 29% and 8%, respectively).



Week of Mother’s Day (5/5 – 5/11): Sales lifted sharply on Thursday through Saturday prior to Mother’s Day, as compared to a typical week. For these three days, sales were up an average of 14% from ordinary levels, suggesting that shoppers were focused on last-minute Mother’s Day purchases.



Week of Memorial Day (5/26 – 6/1): Memorial Day itself saw a 73% increase in traffic and a 59% increase in sales from a typical Monday. However, traffic on the following Saturday dropped 16%, compared to an average Saturday as shoppers chose non-shopping activities coming off the heavy retail period. RetailNext says this finding reveals the opportunity for retailers to shift non-essential activities away from the “must-win” days of Memorial Day weekend to the softer shopping weekend immediately to follow.



Week of Father’s Day (6/9 – 6/15): The week leading up to Father’s Day saw significant lift in traffic, conversion, and sales, peaking on Friday with a 32% sales increase from a typical Friday. This sustained surge in sales indicates a clear mission among shoppers seeking Father’s Day gifts. RetailNext advises retailers should note this trend in future years and create plans to capitalize fully on these highly motivated shoppers.



“The two drivers for changing shopping patterns around holidays this spring were gift giving and special events that changed when consumers hit the stores,” said Chitra Balasubramanian, VP of Insights, RetailNext. “The increased activity leading up to both Mother’s and Father’s Day represents a genuine boost to retailers, although as with previous studies we’ve seen those seeking gifts for women tend to shop later than those seeking gifts for men. If you attribute much of this uplift to people shopping for their spouses, one possible explanation is that men have a greater tendency than women to delay gift shopping until right before the holiday.”