You presumably are aware that “Black Friday”, the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally was the biggest retail sales day of the year and marked the point at which retailers were “in the black”, i.e. started making a profit. That goes back half a century or more.
Not so much today. The results from the Black Friday weekend (Thanksgiving through Monday) are still coming in but here are some preliminary findings.
1. Online
Yesterday, “Cyber Monday”, was the biggest day for online sales ever. According to Adobe Digital Insights by 10:00am Monday online sales had already increased by 17% over last year’s figures.
2. Mobile
From the same source a lot of those online sales were made on mobile devices—nearly half of the total, mostly using smartphones.
3. BOPIS
“Buy Online—Pickup in Store” is a hot trend in retailing and Black Friday was no exception. This presents a challenge to retail analysis companies who must disaggregate in-store conversions and BOPIS. As BOPIS becomes increasingly popular, it will also cause stores to rethink their layouts.
4. In-store sales: meh
According to ShopperTrak, shopper visits to retail stores actually declined 1.6% relative to last year. This continues the downward trend of “brick and mortar” stores.
5. Brand dilution
Basically, Black Friday ain’t what it used to be. Discounting begins long before Thanksgiving and continues right through the holidays. “Black Thanksgiving”, as conducting major sales on Thanksgiving Day has been called, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the stores that are just sitting out Black Friday—they all contribute to a decline in importance for what used to be the most important day of the year for retail sales.
Did 1, 2, and 3.