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In-Store Holiday Sales Decline as Online Grows
Dec 1, 2016 2:33 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Sales and foot traffic at physical stores in the U.S. fell
over the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend as more retail business moved
online, according to the latest figures.
U.S. store sales declined 4.2 percent and traffic fell 4.4
percent over the same weekend a year ago, analytics company RetailNext reported.
“The weekend results
underline the importance of brands effectively converging digital and physical
channels to deliver a single, seamless shopping experience to consumers,
particularly during the high-volume holiday season,” said Shelley
Kohan, vice president of retail consulting at RetailNext.
“Bricks-and-mortar sales and traffic numbers tell only part
of the retail story, as many brands saw tremendous lift in their online
channels that will positively impact overall performance.”
Including digital, sales in the November to December holiday
period will rise 3.2 percent, RetailNext predicted.
Ecommerce data for the season-to-date supports this
perceived shift to online. U.S. spending from desktop computers between
November 1 and November 25 grew 12 percent to $24.52 billion, according to figures
from ComScore. Thanksgiving Day sales jumped 17 percent to $1.29 billion and
Black Friday receipts rocketed 19 percent to $1.97 billion, ComScore reported.
Data company ShopperTrak, however, assessed Black Friday as being more neutral for traditional retailers, saying foot
traffic at bricks-and-mortar outlets was flat. Fewer store openings on
Thanksgiving Day meant Black Friday sales were not split over the two days as
they were in previous years, the company explained. Shopper visits to physical stores
declined 1 percent across Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, it added.
Image: Ray Bouknight
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Tags:
black friday, comScore, holiday sales, holiday season, holiday shopping, Rapaport News, retail, retailnext, shoppertrak, Thanksgiving
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