Black Friday Weekend Spending Reaches Historic High at $52 Bln
November 28, 11
(IDEX Online News) –It seems no one had more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend than U.S. retailers. According to a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey conducted by BIGresearch over the weekend, traffic and spending reached historic highs both online and in stores. That good news carried over into jewelry sales, which were up 21.8 percent over last year.
According to the survey, a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend (including projected spending for Sunday November 27), up from 212 million last year.
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Shoppers also went online in search of bargains, spending an average of $150.53 on the Internet – 37.8 percent of their total weekend spending.
The survey found 28.7 million people shopped online and at stores on Thanksgiving Day – up from 22.2 million last year. More people than ever before also shopped online and in stores on Black Friday, as 86.3 million shoppers braved the crowds that day alone.
Showing signs that belts may be loosening another notch, shoppers went wild for discretionary gifts. More than half (51.4 percent) bought clothing and clothing accessories, and gift buyers were also drawn to promotions on electronics and computer-related accessories over the weekend. Nearly four in 10 (39.4 percent) bought electronic items, up from 36.7 percent last year. Additionally, shoppers stocked up on home décor (21.3 percent), gift cards (23.1 percent), toys (32.6 percent), and jewelry (21.8 percent).
Department stores once again headed the most popular shopping destination (48.7 percent) followed by discounters (37.5 percent), clothing stores (24.6 percent), drug stores (14 percent), grocery stores (23.8 percent), electronics stores (30.8 percent) and craft or fabric stores (7. 9 percent).
Retailers also saw an increase in the numbers visiting their websites over the weekend, with 35.2 percent of shoppers checking out the online arena compared to 33.6 percent last year.
“Stuffed to the brim from their holiday meals and eager to shop, more consumers than ever turned out for retailers’ Black Friday promotions, a promising sign for the economic recovery,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.
“After an historic holiday weekend, retailers know the holiday season is far from over and will continue to look for ways to keep excite holiday shoppers and build on the momentum we’ve seen thus far,” he added.