Black Friday store sales drop as Americans opt to buy more online

An estimated 56.9 million American adults-45 percent of all shoppers-have bought or plan to buy tech products during the Thanksgiving shopping week, according to a report released by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). But there was some double-dipping.

“It is clear that the age-old holiday tradition of heading out to stores with family and friends is now equally matched in the new tradition of looking online for holiday savings opportunities”, said Shay. Among Americans who shopped online this year, 85 percent cited avoiding crowds as their top reason, 79 percent said saving time and 78 percent cited finding better or similar deals online compared with in stores. But don’t worry, we won’t tell.

As for how people are buying, the report says, it appears that it offers a good insight into consumer trends, with shopping done through smartphones accounting for 22pc of total sales across the two days, marking a 70pc increase on 2014.

Gunnar Rathbun/Invision for Walmart Black Friday sales this year have fallen more than $1 billion from 2014’s retail profits.

But this year’s sales data show it was mostly a dud.

For Black Friday, known for its early-morning lines to snare those limited-quantity doorbusters and jammed parking lots, it was at least the second straight year that in-store sales have fallen, according to ShopperTrak. That’s an overall 10 percent decrease in sales, a effect of both stores offering sales days earlier and online sales that allowed consumers to shop from the comfort of their homes, The Guardian notes.

ShopperTrak said Thanksgiving and Black Friday created $1.8 billion and $10.4 billion in deals individually. Meanwhile, mobile sales tipped 40 percent of all online sales coming from mobile devices, an increase of 23.8 per cent year on year.

“Retailers are prepared for a mobile-driven day of shopping and have optimized the mobile shopping experience to make Cyber Monday shopping easier and more dynamic for their customers”, NRF Senior Vice President and Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell said.

“Combined with the improved convenience of online shopping thru mobile ordering & in-store pickup options and the seamless availability of deals online, we believe standing in-line for doorbusters is losing its appeal”. But 34 percent said they shopped on Thanksgiving Day and 46 percent said they shopped on Saturday.

Early estimates on retail sales from the high-volume shopping day show in-store spending fell by $1.2 billion this year as consumers took advantage of online deals and early promotions, according to retail research firm ShopperTrak.

Black Friday shoppers at Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus on November 27, 2015. And in the last few years, they’ve opened locations on Thanksgiving Day, a once-sacred holiday from retail. The group said the changes are aimed at getting a fuller picture of shoppers’ habits, including their growing affinity for online buying.

But in 2014, the average person who shopped spent $380.95 compared to $407.02 a year earlier in 2013.