In a recent report on CNN Money, Black Friday estimates were released after the record one-day sale event. According to ShopperTrak, a company that monitors foot traffic at malls and stores, 2011 sales in retail climbed 6.6% from the previous year. This increase marks the biggest since an 8.3% increase seen during the 2006-2007 year. Even though the economy is still slow, consumers seem to have not noticed and shopped during Black Friday. What is more interesting is that in the month of November, retail sales in general saw an increase, up 3.6 and 3.8 percent during the two weeks before Black Friday. This year was the year of ‘Door Busters’ and shoppers camped out early to get a hold of the deals.
However, not only were retail figures up this past Black Friday, but online sales saw an increase as well. The figures for online sales are: up 39.3% on Thanksgiving Day, and up 24.3% on Black Friday, compared to last years figures, according to IBM Coremetrics. The evidence is clear that the famous one-day sale known as Black Friday, was a big hit this year. Consumers spent money and retail sales surged. Deals were abundant and shoppers wanted in on the savings. What was more intriguing was all the national headlines that occurred after the big shopping day, about incidents involving injuries and chaos during the day. If you missed out on this year’s Black Friday shopping, I am sure there will be more deals next year. However, it is evident that the deals that were available this Black Friday, must have been worth it.
With sales this big, I wonder if retail stores and companies will offer the same deals next year? Forecasts before Black Friday stated that consumers would most likely spend more money than they did last year, and they did just that. Shoppers spent around 3% more on goods and items this year than they did last Black Friday. It is becoming more and more popular to shop on Black Friday and the one-day sale is worth the wait.