In the wake of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2015, it appears the former day-long events have become week-long and season-long promotions. Incentives began before Black Friday and Cyber Monday and continued far into the holiday season.
"I thought opening on Thanksgiving was a fad that would go away, but there was strong growth on Thanksgiving Day," said Bill Martin, founder of ShopperTrak, a data analytics platform. Total spend in 2015 between Thanksgiving and Black Friday reached $12.3 billion, with almost $2 billion on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to the company's post-holiday shopping report. Sales remained relatively flat, reflecting a 0.5 percent decrease over the same period last year.
National Retail Federation President Matthew Shay said the importance of the Thanksgiving holiday will never change but acknowledged that retailers are providing incentives designed to attract consumers before and beyond Black Friday. "It is clear that the age-old holiday tradition of heading out to stores with family and friends is now equally matched in the new tradition of looking online for holiday savings opportunities," he said.
Black Friday in-store sales in 2015 remained relatively flat while online sales increased by 14 percent to $4.45 billion, with half of all purchases initiated on mobile devices, according to software provider Adobe in its Adobe Digital Index, which surveyed 4,500 U.S. retail sites. The software provider also predicted that Cyber Monday sales would reach $2.98 billion, a 12 percent increase over 2014.
IBM reported a new mobile milestone in 2015: purchases made on mobile devices on Black Friday exceeded desktop spend for the first time. The survey also revealed 57 percent of sales in the opening days of the holiday season were made online.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also reported an upsurge in mobile spend, with 50 percent of online orders placed on mobile devices since Thanksgiving Day. The retailer had placed a majority of its door-busting deals online.
The NRF acknowledged a 5.2 percent decrease in in-store traffic between Thanksgiving Day and the following Sunday, with 133.7 million consumer shoppers in 2015 compared with 141.1 million in 2014. NRF members expected overall holiday spend to reach $630.5 billion in 2015, with 46 percent of that spent online.
ShopKeep, provider of a cloud-based iPad POS system and headquartered in New York City, reported its merchants experienced a 16.7 percent increase in sales revenue and a 9.26 percent increase in overall number of transactions on Black Friday 2015, compared with the previous year, demonstrating a marked increase in overall sales volume and average ticket pricing.
"ShopKeep merchants leverage our detailed analytics capabilities to better understand their customers and their unique purchasing behavior," said Norm Merritt, Chief Executive Officer at ShopKeep. "This enables them to more effectively target customers, without having to resort to the heavy discounts relied on by big box retailers to attract customers."
The ShopKeep Small Business Index revealed that almost 30 percent of its merchants were not planning to open for business on Black Friday; 48 percent were planning to keep regular store opening hours during the holiday season. In addition, 73 percent didn't plan to hire seasonal help this year.
"Merchants who have integrated payment processing and business management systems have been able to leverage inventory management and reporting features, enabling them to make smarter, more informed business decisions in real-time," Merritt said. "This includes ordering items when they're close to going out of stock, adjusting employee hours to add more staff during peak sales hours, or removing products that aren't selling."
Sam Sisakhti, CEO of online fashion marketplace UsTrendy noted that for retailers to derive the most benefit from Black Friday sales, they must create targeted solutions that appeal to their customers. Retailers will compete against online businesses that offer consumers fast, convenient checkouts without the hassle of fighting crowds in stores.
Crediting Macy's and Sears for starting the trend, Sisakhti introduced deep discounts over a five-day period with a "countdown sale" leading up to the official start of Black Friday. The practice has become commonplace in the clothing and fashion industry, he said. "The notion of Black Friday has become a week-long event," he said. "This has rapidly evolved over the past few years as retailers look to squeeze additional revenue out of their stores with competitive discounts and other incentives."
Petitions requesting that stores remain closed on Thanksgiving Day initiated by consumer advocates and disgruntled retail store employees have been circulating online, attracting attention, news coverage and in some cases, more than 20,000 sympathetic signatures.
Certain retailers, including Staples, TJX, H&M and Lowe's, sided with consumers and remained closed for the holiday. An increasing number of retailers, including JCPenney and Dollar General, remained open. Kohl's, Best Buy, ToysRUs and others compromised by opening in the late afternoon or early evening of the family holiday.
Some people have switched their emphasis entirely by focusing on two recent holiday season phenomena: Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday. Launched by American Express Co. in 2010, Small Business Saturday is supported by thousands of merchants and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The initiative encourages people to shop at small, local businesses on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. In 2014, an estimated $14.3 billion was spent at small, independent businesses on that day.
A newer entrant, Giving Tuesday is an online initiative now in its fourth year. Using the hashtag #GivingTuesday, and parked online at www.givingtuesday.org, the organization's aim is to have a recognized "global day dedicated to giving back."
PayPal Inc. has supported this event since its inception. "It's been incredible to see the #GivingTuesday movement grow to more than 68 countries in just four years," wrote Clam Lorenz, General Manager, Social Innovation at PayPal, in a post on Giving Tuesday's website. "This year, we're teaming up with 92nd Street Y to help prove just how big it's become, by attempting to set a new Guinness World Records™ title for the most money donated online for charity in 24 hours. Our goal is to help make this #GivingTuesday the biggest so far."
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