Retail store sales decline on Thanksgiving, Black Friday

Still, brick-and-mortar stores held some sway with shoppers Friday.

But the predicted in-store chaos of past year failed to materialise, with one expert claiming Friday’s discount bonanza was “like signing a death warrant” for retailers and more than a quarter of high street shops had d ecided not to take part. Shoppers said you could find items 40, 50 and even 60 percent off in some stores.

Online retailers reported record-breaking sales from the first few hours of the event, making it likely that online retail sales in the United Kingdom would surpass £1bn in one day, a 32pc increase on last year’s £810m.

With many shoppers having received their last pay packet before Christmas, retailers are hoping the promotions will kick-start festive trading after a weak November.

Bargain hunters found relatively little competition compared with previous years, Reuters reported.

And J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison said that the chain worked hard to make its app more user friendly to boost online sales.

By the end of the day retail analyst Experian-IMRG predicts that spending online will hit £1.07 billion, a 32% increase on last year’s £810 million.

The NRF changed its surveying methodology and said the report is not comparable to last year’s numbers.

Consumers keen to avoid elbow-to-elbow crowds and jammed parking lots are increasingly turning to the Web. Many retailers are also offering bargains long before Thanksgiving, limiting the impact of Black Friday specials. She added that online purchases made up almost 90 percent of her total shopping this year. Crowds at the South Hills Village mall were on par with last year’s, said Jennifer Carroll, the mall’s marketing manager, when online sales and extended Black Friday hours cut into foot traffic the day after Thanksgiving.

“The Black Friday customer is really a die-hard and it’s all about the experience for them and if that includes bad weather, they’re out to experience it”, said Debbie Griesinger, with The Outlet Shoppes At Oklahoma City.

Retail sales are growing at “a steady pace”, said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist of the National Retail Federation.

With the cannibalization of department stores’ retail sales by online retailers fairly obvious, what else is going on with the American consumer?

Many stores pushed discounts on holiday merchandise early. TGT commented on a robust start to its Black Friday weekend, with “unprecedented” results online and a strong store turnout on Thanksgiving Day.

“Electronic stuff, it’s better to get it online”, said Jermey Karmer of Fargo.

The next big shopping day is Cyber Monday, which is also expected to be diluted by the early discounts and rise of 24/7 shopping.