Despite inflation and high product costs, companies reported Black Friday sales from online shoppers that surpassed expectations.
Experts estimated sales to have totaled $9.12 billion. Since the epidemic began, these sales on Black Friday have been the highest in two years. Over $8.92 billion was made by businesses on Black Friday last year, and $9.03 billion was spent on businesses in 2020.
However, the higher costs customers must pay for the essential services or items they need for the holidays, according to Adobe Analytics, caused the increase in overall sales.
The number of Apple MacBook orders and consumer watch purchases increased significantly. The 221% increase in electronic sales made online on Friday can be largely attributed to them. The other commonly purchased products are Xbox Series X, drones, and the video games FIFA 23 and Pokemon Scarlet.
According to Adobe, consumer spending will continue through the weekend and the days after. They also predict that on Saturday and Sunday, individuals will spend an added $8 billion.
“While there is much speculation about inflation’s impact on consumer behavior, our data tells us that this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will see robust store traffic with a record number of shoppers taking advantage of value pricing,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.
“We are optimistic that retail sales will remain strong in the weeks ahead, and retailers are ready to meet consumers however they want to shop with great products at prices they want to pay,” he added.
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Less expected spending on Black Friday
Before the holidays started, analysts expected reduced spending from the public. However, the records show that sales were low in the two years since the pandemic began. Additionally, they anticipate lower-than-usual sales at the malls as inflation threatens over the holidays.
According to the National Retail Foundation, the state of the economy influences consumer behavior. Over 60% of shoppers believe this due to the present trend. The Great Recession of 2008 saw the greatest proportion since then.
“Consumers want better prices, so they’re waiting on the sidelines. So it’s going to really boil down to whether the stores blink first or the retailers blink first,” said Krish Thyagarajan from DataWeave Analytics.
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In preparation for the holidays
According to a company, some people’s spending switched to October as they prepared for their November and December purchases. As the holidays approached, though, retailers experienced a surge in sales. The implication is that consumers were still willing to spend more despite having previously spent some of their money a month prior.
“While consumers continue to save the bulk of their holiday shopping for later in November and December, some of that spending has shifted into October. This year, 18% of holiday shoppers have completed at least half of their holiday shopping. While this is on par with last year, it is up from only 11% a decade ago,” said Phil Rist.
“An estimated 166.3 million people are planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. This figure is almost 8 million more people than last year. And is the highest estimate since NRF began tracking this data in 2017,” said the NRF in a statement.
Photo Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis
Source: NPR
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