Black Friday Traffic Up 2.9% As Shoppers Return To Stores

Consumers returned to stores on Black Friday as shopper visits increased 2.9% compared to last year. Foot traffic to non-indoor mall locations, including lifestyle centers, outdoor malls, neighborhood centers and independents, increased 4.7%. “The strong traffic numbers for Black Friday show that shoppers are returning to stores and enjoying the socializing that the holiday brings,” said Brian Field, global leader in retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions.

back to the stores

In an interview with Field, he commented that shoppers are returning to a new normal after more than two years of a pandemic. “Unified commerce continues to be important as shoppers use both physical and online stores to enhance the overall shopping experience.” Consumers started holiday shopping earlier this year, with 52% of respondents in a recent survey saying they started shopping earlier this year. “There is a greater degree of purchase with shoppers this year being much more engaged when they come to the stores,” Field said.

Stores are using tools to help manage crowds by monitoring store occupancy levels, a feature Sensormatic Controls provides its users. Many stores that anticipated a higher volume of traffic used props to ensure that there were no large crowds by limiting the number of shoppers in a store.

The ten days of Christmas

Consumer sentiment data showed that price, availability and convenience were among the top factors shoppers considered when deciding when to shop this year, according to data published by Sensormatic Solutions. Field advised retailers to keep an eye on foot traffic patterns as the holiday shopping season continues. The ten most active United States shopping days in 2022 it will probably account for 40% of all holiday traffic.

Super Saturday is earlier in the season, December 17, and is the fourth busiest day of the holiday season behind Black Friday, December 23 and December 26. And since Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, the flow of shoppers can break the traditional cycle. Sensormatic Solutions expects holiday traffic to be distributed differently than in recent years. While this deviation is unlikely to affect overall volume, retailers may need to adjust their approach to account for Super Saturday and Christmas Sunday preceding it. “The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was 2016,” Field said. “That means historical data will be crucial for retailers as we head into December.

Shopify merchants show record sales

From the start of Black Friday in New Zealand to the end of Black Friday in California, businesses in Shopify generated a 17% increase in sales compared to Black Friday in 2021. Black Friday sales of $3.36 billion worldwide from Shopify’s millions of merchants worldwide set a record. US highlights from merchants using Shopify showed:

• 12:00 pm (EST) was the peak sales hour
• $113.25 was the average cart price
• Clothing and accessories was the main product category
• Point of sale sales made by Shopify merchants increased 25% over last year

“Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday have become a full shopping season. The weekend that started it all remains one of the biggest retail events of the year, and our merchants have once again broken Black Friday sales records,” said Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify.

Black Friday exceeds 9,000 million dollars online

A record $9.1 billion was spent online for Black Friday, up 2.3% from the previous year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. The Electronics category was a major growth driver, with online sales up 221% over the average day in October 2022. Smart home items (up 271%) and audio equipment (up 271%). 230% more) sold particularly well. Toys continued to be a strong category (up 285%), while exercise equipment also performed well (up 218%).

Adobe Analytics stated in its report that as online spending has increased, consumers facing inflation and higher prices are embracing flexible payments. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) orders for the holiday shopping week were up 78% compared to last year. Additionally, 48% of online sales transactions were made using smartphones, up from 44% last year.

Cyber ​​Monday reigns supreme

Adobe expects Cyber ​​Monday to remain the biggest online shopping day of the season and of the year with $11.2 billion, up 5.1% from the prior year. Adobe expects Cyber ​​Week (the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber ​​Monday) to generate $34.8 billion in online spend, up 2.8% year-over-year. Cyber ​​Week is projected to account for 16.3% of online revenue for November and December.

The holiday season is off to a great start for physical and online retailers. Black Friday is traditionally the day that moves retailers from red (loss) to black (profit), but questions remain as to whether this year’s deep discounts will keep some retailers stuck in the red.