Stores cater to Black Friday shoppers

US News says that a 60-inch Samsung HD Smart TV will be sold for $579 with a free $80 gift card. Other countries are putting a lot of effort into this shopping holiday as well, but the United Kingdom is taking the crown where growth is concerned.

“I expected to be a bit more booming, but I mean I got what I wanted so, if I can get that in the end then I could really care less about anything else”, said shopper Charles Dandy.

Xinhua news agency on Saturday quoted Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) as saying that the total represented a 21.6 per cent increase from the same day of past year and $290 million above the predicted $3.05 billion sales for the traditional shopping day after Thanksgiving holiday.

But now that most Americans carry a smartphone in their pocket, Cyber Monday itself is starting to seem inconvenient, if not obsolete.

While some shoppers said they hit the stores out of tradition, many consumers said they were largely focused on grabbing deeply discounted items.

The National Retail Federation has said it expects total sales this holiday season to increase by 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion, mainly due to the rise in online shopping. Shoppers spent $1.15 billion online between 5pm EST and midnight -a 13.6 % increase from 2015, according to Adobe Digital Insights. The average order value on Apple’s AAPL, +0.50% iOS devices ($144) outperforms Android devices ($119), the study based on actual transactions found.

But mobile shopping remains a hassle in its own way.

Walmart’s Black Friday 2016 sales has not yet concluded, and the Arkansas-headquartered retailer already announced that will be producing a live stream online show for Cyber Monday 2016. “It brings us together even more, like an extension of the holidays”. The index says 47 percent of all site visits were made from smartphones, while 9 percent were made from tablets. “You know, you stand in line forever just waiting, and now it’s like you walk in, get what you need, and you check out, and you’re gone”, Applegate said. In 15 malls, shopping center operator JLL reported 73 percent of it surveyed and found out that retailers were able to reach their target sales and made it became better than a year ago. Reuters reporters saw bigger crowds by midday at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall near O’Hare International Airport, which houses shops for high-end brands and retailers, and at Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, Florida.

Last year, 70 percent of Wal-Mart’s traffic between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday came from mobile devices, said Ravi Jariwala, company spokesman.

Shoppers pass by a retail store as they walk along Fifth Avenue on Black Friday in NY.

Looking beyond this weekend, the NRF projects November and December retail sales – leaving out autos, gasoline and restaurants – will total almost $656 billion, almost four percent greater than the sum of retail business from the same months previous year. “We were out last night at Walmart, and we thought it was going to be insane but it wasn’t”, Jones said.

“Our customers were particularly excited about the new technologies we offered this year”.

It has instead marked the event with a series of “Mannequin Challenge” videos set in store, the first of which spoofs the footage from its Wembley store in 2014, where customers scrapped over bargain TVs.

They weren’t the only ones who noticed how smooth things were during what historically is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. “I think they’re paying attention to online sales”, she said. The cool Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S will get a $20 discount and drop down to $49.

Alexis Chavez, 19, of Yucaipa said Thursday night was “crazy” at Target at Citrus Plaza, with heavily discounted televisions flying off the shelves.

In the NY and Chicago areas, shoppers said stores were less busy than previous years on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. “I don’t want to fight with someone over a toaster oven at Wal-Mart”, he said. “I bought everything online”.

Where will the best deals be?

I don’t begrudge anyone these big shopping days and all their opportunities. “We go every single year”.

Such sentiments aren’t uncommon – and they can be a major factor in driving holiday weekend traffic.