Holiday shoppers continue to shift online
Retail outlets saw a small increase in Black Friday sales compared to last year while online retailers saw an 11 percent jump in sales. So where are consumers spending their money online?
Overall sales at retail outlets for Black Friday totaled an estimated $10.66 billion, according to retail research firm ShopperTrak. That number shows a modest gain of only 0.5 percent over last year.
This means that it’s still an uncertain holiday shopping season for most retailers, especially considering the fact that sales had grown 3 percent during last Black Friday over the previous year. However we’re already seeing a bright spot in the online retail market and a few companies in particular.
Online sales during Black Friday jumped 11 percent to 595 million according to Comscore. With overall spending growing slightly, online retailers are continuing to draw shoppers that are tired of standing in long lines to get deals on gifts.
A few online sites saw a major spike in Unique Visitors on Friday that show where shoppers are spending their money online. Tops was Amazon with a 28 percent spike in visitors followed by Walmart with 22 percent more visitors.
However Apple saw the most impressive spike on a percentage basis of 39 percent more visitors during Black Friday. Apple’s products are also popular on Amazon, with Macs holding the top three spots in Amazon’s ‘Most wished for’ category.
Still it’s hard to say whether these signs will point to an increase in overall retail sales for the holiday season. There are still a lot of shopping days left in the season and an early spike could be due to Black Friday deal-making.
Do you think you’ll be spending more this holiday season or just spending more online? Or do you think these early numbers are inflated due to price-slashing and you’re tightening your belt this holiday season?
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