ShopperTrak: Foot traffic up 3.7% year-over-year for post-Thanksgiving week

Chicago -- A report on Wednesday from ShopperTrak showed that retail foot traffic increased 3.7% and sales increased 2.3% year-over-year for the week beginning Nov. 25, ending Dec. 1.



This represented a 28.8% decline in traffic and 22.4% decline in sales from the 2012 Black Friday shopping week.



According to ShopperTrak, this sharp decline in retail foot traffic and sales is typical of the week following Thanksgiving. Shoppers may visit stores for Black Friday promotions, but often stay at home the following week as they assess current budgets and create new shopping lists.



"The holiday season has just begun,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. “Black Friday shopping remains an American tradition -- and consumers took advantage of promotions the entire week this year. Many usually scale back their in-store visits around this time in favor of online shopping for Cyber Monday deals. We expect consumers to return to stores in increasing numbers to complete their holiday shopping in the coming weeks."



With 20 more shopping days left before Christmas, shoppers have two full weeks and three weekends to make their lists and check them twice this holiday season. Some may wait for retailers to reduce prices prior to Christmas for last-minute deals. As a result, ShopperTrak predicts the week before Christmas -- week of Dec. 16 -- to be the largest retail sales week of the year.