U.s Weekend Holiday Sales Reach A New Peak
Retailers were happy that their blend of deep discounts
, investment openings and website produced a strong start to the holiday season. They are now planning further price cuts to keep cautious consumers interested in the remainder of the retail key.
Black Friday sales, the biggest shopping day after Thanksgiving, rose 6.6% from a year ago, according to data from retail and consulting firm ShopperTrak, which uses the installed equipment in stores to measure traffic. That compares with an anemic 0.3% gain in 2010. Sales for the four days after Thanksgiving grew by 16.4%, according to the National Retail Federation, which surveyed 3826 people.
The NRF estimates that consumers spent an average of $ 398.62 on the weekend of Black Friday, up 9.1% from last year. Of that amount, $ 150.53, or 38%, came from online sales.
In fact, online spending on Black Friday increased 26% over last year, according to market research Inc. comScore, which monitors the patterns of one million online buyers and then the statistical weight to the overall project performance the U.S.. And International Business Machines Corp. Coremetrics data unit reported a 24% increase in online sales on the basis of real-time data tracks sales of more than 500 U.S. retailers.
"Used to be that Black Friday was to go to retail stores and online was Cyber Monday," said eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe. "Now that the line is completely blurred."
Based on early indications, the giants of online retail, Amazon.com Inc. and eBay, are the big winners this season. ChannelAdvisor, which helps more than 3,000 dealers to sell through a variety of online commerce sites, said his clients were the sales of the Amazon rise in third-party market to 50% on Black Friday compared to last year before.
Positive indicators for e-commerce giant, along with strong sales in general line, predictions that prompted Cyber Monday is a day for even larger Internet retailers. This is because web stores tend to save their biggest promotions of Cyber Monday, a term coined online retailers in 2005 to organize the sale Monday after Thanksgiving.
Overall, the weekend numbers hopes that retailers will be able to overcome the resistance of high unemployment and slow economic growth to exceed the expectations of what had been a mediocre Christmas, a period that can account a fifth or more of sales from the chains of many. But traders warned that consumers remain frugal, and they said they are unsure of rhythm the first weekend can be maintained.
Black Friday sales were up last year in the chain of women's specialty stores The Limited, which offers 50% discounts on merchandise. But CEO Linda Heasley, said many customers entered the store asking if the bids would be better later in the season. As a result, the chain of ownership of private capital are planning a lot of discounts between now and Christmas.
"It will be a nail biter until the end," said Heasley. GameStop Corp. Chief Executive Paul Raines echoed that sentiment. "I think in this economy, all retailers are seeing unemployment figures carefully and doing everything possible to remain competitive," he said. Sales increased this year in part because retailers like Macy's Inc. and Best Buy Co. opted for the first time to join other large retailers opening at midnight on Thanksgiving, the expansion of the available hours to go shopping.
Brick-mortar retailers are also struggling to keep up with rivals online. The Limited said its online sales grew 40% from a year ago. Retail fishing instruments Bass Pro Inc. 's online increased by 96%. Toys "R" Us CEO Gerald Storch Inc. said sales in the bricks and the Internet were strong on Black Friday.
In general, department stores recorded the largest increase in online traffic, according to Coremetrics, with online sales 59% last year. Macy Kohl Corp., JC Penney Co., Nordstrom Inc. and other chains have been plowing money into their online platforms, the investment was worth the weekend.
Meanwhile, e-commerce companies intensified their efforts to muscle in what has traditionally been one of the great days of the year for its bricks and mortar rivals.
EBay had a record Black Friday, Mr. Donahoe said. ChannelAdvisor, with Dell Inc., Under Armour Inc. and other large retailers and their customers, said its dealers that sell on eBay saw sales rise 15% on Black Friday. Scot Wingo, ChannelAdvisor CEO, said this is a good sign for eBay as the online market usually has more sales of the biggest parties around Christmas, because customers see it as the "store of last resort" for last minute gifts.
The data in this weekend of Thanksgiving also showed that consumers were buying more products using mobile devices such as Tablet PCs and smartphones. Orders placed from mobile devices accounted for 9.8% of online sales, up from 3.2% the previous year, Coremetrics said. EBay, for example, said that buyers have purchased 2 times as many items using their mobile application for eBay Mobile.
Lord & Taylor reached record levels of Black Friday sales despite sticking to its 5 am opening even though many of its competitors opened at midnight, said CEO Brendan Hoffman. Categories such as shoes, handbags, watches and cosmetics were strongest in the department store, said.
"While Black Friday is not necessarily a good cement Christmas season," he added, "it's good to get off to a good start." In addition, Foot Locker Inc. CEO Ken Hicks, said he had warned his team not get complacent after a good Black Friday. "This is just the first mile of a marathon," he said.
by: wang may
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