Black Friday sees online retail sales soar by 22% to a record $9BILLION - but store visits plummet by 52% amid the pandemic
Black Friday online sales hit a new record this year as pandemic-wary Americans filled virtual carts instead of real ones.
Consumers spent an estimated $9 billion on U.S. retail websites on Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping. That was a 22 percent increase over the previous record of $7.4 billion set in 2019.
Meanwhile, traffic to physical stores plummeted as retailers tried to prevent crowds by cutting their hours and limiting doorbuster deals.
U.S. store visits dropped by 52 percent on Black Friday, according to Sensormatic Solutions, a retail tracker.
Online retailers experienced a record Black Friday sales day this year with $9 billion in revenue, which exceeded last year's figure by 22 percent
Amid the pandemic, Black Friday store traffic was down 52 percent compared to 2019. Shoppers on November 28 pass an open Disney Store that is still partially boarded up from recent vandalism on Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile shopping district
Traffic was slower in the Northeast and West than in the Midwest and South, said Brian Field, Sensormatic's senior director of global retail consulting.
Jewelry and footwear saw some of the biggest in-person sales declines, according to RetailNext, a shopping tracker. Apparel sales were down 50 percent, while sales of home goods fell by 39 percent.
Even with that drop, Black Friday will still likely end up as one of the biggest in-person shopping days in the U.S. this year, Field said. He thinks many people will still shop for the holidays in person, but will choose mid-week days when crowds are smaller.
Heavier in-store discounts and concerns about lengthy shipping times could also draw shoppers closer to Christmas.
'Black Friday had a lot to lose, but some of it is going to be distributed throughout the holiday season,' Field said.
Many shoppers stayed home and shopped online this year, leaving plenty of room on streets that are usually mobbed on Black Friday, such as 34th Street in Manhattan, home to Macy's flagship store
Overall, retailers can expect holiday sales to be up 3.6 percent to 5.2 percent over last year's haul, according to the National Retail Federation.
Over the past five years, average year-on-year growth during retailers' crucial holiday season has been 3.5 percent, CNBC reported.
'Given the pandemic, there is uncertainty about consumers' willingness to spend,' NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz told CNBC. 'But with the economy improving, most have the ability to spend.'
One trend that could remain after the pandemic ends is that stores could remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, Field said.
Since 2013, a growing number of stores had opened on Thanksgiving to match their competitors and get a jump start on Black Friday.
But it's typically not a big day for retailers, and this year many stayed closed. Thanksgiving store traffic was down 95%, he said.
In-person sales of apparel, jewelry, footwear, and home goods were down significantly on Black Friday 2020, which was reflected in low foot traffic in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue in New York
Shoppers pass a sign offering 40 percent discounts at a store in Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile shopping district on November 28
Field said stores may be rethinking the cost of paying employees and opening on Thanksgiving when they could easily make up for those sales online.
'I wonder, now that we're seeing a season where they were able to cut the cord on it, if it will give them pause,' he said.
Adobe expects Cyber Monday to be the largest online sales day in U.S. history, with estimated spending of $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion.
One reason for the big numbers is that people are shopping online for things such as groceries and alcohol that they bought in person before the pandemic, Adobe said.
As for more traditional gifts, Hot Wheels cars, Lego sets, Apple AirPods, Samsung televisions and video games are among the biggest sellers.
Big retailers such as Walmart and Target benefited from the surge, but small retailers did as well, Adobe said.
Sales at big stores surged by 403% on Thanksgiving and Black Friday compared to the daily average in October, but sales at smaller retailers also grew by 349%.