Black Friday Retail Numbers Show Online and Big Box In-Store Won, Small Business Crushed

Black Friday Retail Numbers Show Online and Big Box In-Store Won, Small Business Crushed

Roughly half as many people visited stores on Black Friday as they did in 2019, according to research firms that measure foot traffic, reports Wall Street Journal.

GoLocal saw lines outside of big box retailers like Walmart on Friday morning, but according to retail trackers it was really only big box that captured significant in-store traffic.

This is bad news for small, local retailers.

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Cyber "Month" Dominates

"From the data we're tracking, instead of just a Big Bang on Black Friday weekend, we're seeing what's becoming more of a Cyber Month," Andy Mantis, head of data insights for 1010data, told Retail Dive in an email. "It kicked off with Prime Day in October, and is continuing."

This year, online shoppers on Amazon or Best Buy's website could get many of the same deals that stores once dangled only to those who lined up overnight.

“Those who did venture out made fewer stops and increasingly turned to big-box chains like Walmart and Target, that sell everything from lettuce to Legos, according to the foot-traffic data, shoppers and retail analysts,” reports Retail Dive.

Digital sales have posted explosive growth throughout 2020 as pandemic-wary consumers avoid indoor spaces. Black Friday was no exception.

Together with Cyber Monday, Adobe Analytics expects they will be the heaviest online sales days of the year. 

Thanksgiving hit a new record for digital sales, with 21.5% year-over-year growth to $5.1 billion. Black Friday rocketed past that, with online sales hitting $9 billion, an increase of 21.6% from last year, according to Adobe. 

Strong Holiday Season Predicted

Overall holiday sales are expected to increase. Last week, the National Retail Federation forecasted that holiday sales during November and December will increase between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent over 2019 to a total between $755.3 billion and $766.7 billion. The numbers, which exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants, compare with a 4 percent increase to $729.1 billion last year and an average holiday sales increase of 3.5 percent over the past five years.

“We know this holiday season will be unlike any other, and retailers have planned ahead by investing billions of dollars to ensure the health and safety of their employees and customers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumers have shown they are excited about the holidays and are willing to spend on gifts that lift the spirits of family and friends after such a challenging year. We expect a strong finish to the holiday season, and will continue to work with municipal and state officials to keep retailers open and the economy moving forward at this critical time.”

NRF expects that online and other non-store sales, which are included in the total, will increase between 20 percent and 30 percent to between $202.5 billion and $218.4 billion, up from $168.7 billion last year.