Euclid: November retail activity lags year-over-year

San Francisco — Shopping activity increased slightly from October in November 2014, but slumped compared to November of the previous year. Monthly retail benchmarks from in-store analytics provider Euclid reveal that traffic lagged significantly throughout the month, with Black Friday also failing to match the previous year as deals were more distributed across time and channels.



In-store engagement improved, with average duration up and bounce rate down, as the shoppers that did visit the store had a strong intent to buy. Specific findings include:



• Shopper traffic declined 20% compared to the same month last year as in-store shopper activity was cannibalized by online and mobile shopping sessions.

• Storefront conversion was up 2% year-over-year, benefitting from omni-channel consumers and the success of attractive promotions.

• Duration increased 10% from the previous year as a result of increased willingness to browse and explore merchandise. Consumer sentiment and discretionary income have improved greatly from the environment of macro headwinds seen last year

• Repeat visits declined 1% due to omni-channel shoppers accomplishing more purchases in fewer store trips.



The best shopping day of November was Friday the 21st, one week before Black Friday. The 21st actually saw an increase in traffic and storefront conversion compared to the previous year. In addition, significantly longer durations show this was a much more utilized shopping day than it was last year. On the other hand, Monday the 17th was the worst shopping day of the month. Traffic was very low and few outside consumers were attracted into the store.



Compared to the prior year, traffic declined 6.6% on Black Friday. The decline was driven by deep discounts beginning much earlier in the month and continuing after Black Friday. It appears that some consumers felt less frantic about catching deals as they expect them to continue throughout the rest of the season.



Euclid estimates sales growth in the following retail verticals of:

• 1.3% growth year-over-year in general merchandise, apparel, furniture and other (GAFO) retail sales.

• 0.1% decline year-over-year in clothing and apparel sales.

• 0.6% growth year-over-year in general merchandise sales.