Black Friday Traffic Up, Sales Off, or Maybe Not

Black Friday has become a ritual of post-Thanksgiving America. For reasons known only to those so addicted, some folks go to the stores the day after the turkey feast at 4 am or so to save some money on Christmas stuff. The day gets its name from the fact that many retailers go into profit for the year on that day, “in the black.” This year, one report says that there were more people out and about but spending less than last year. Others disagree.

The National Retail Foundation’s [NRF] 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey claims that 147 million shoppers (roughly half the nation) went to the mall or outlets, which is an increase of about 4.8% over last year. The NRF says, though, that spending over the week-end was down 3.5% from 2006, with $347.44 per shopper spent.

NRF CEO Tracy Mullin said in a statement, “While last year showed a greater emphasis on high-definition televisions, this year consumers were focused on lower-priced doorbusters like digital photo frames, laptops and cashmere sweaters.” That is clearly a sign of cautious consumers.

This report contrast with those from MasterCard Advisors and from ShopperTrak RCT Corp. MasterCard’s figures, which rely on credit and debit card sales, say that sales on Friday were over $20 billion compared with $19.1 billion last Black Friday. ShopperTrak, which tracks sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets, said sales volumes were up 8.3% over last year from $9.5 billion to $10.3 billion.

While the NRF report casts some doubt on the overall health of consumer America, there will be in increase in what has become Cyber Monday sales – those sales that start today for customers prepared to shop online. Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, the online division of the NRF, said, “The online community is getting more competitive as the amount of new customers slows. Add to that the concerns about the economy, and promotions and sales provide a great way to get people excited.” Figures should be out in time for the next edition of the Kensington Review.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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