Retailers' strategy of opening earlier than ever paid off big, with a record $11.4 billion in sales on the year's biggest shopping day, according to the firm ShopperTrak.
The firm, which tracks both sales and foot traffic, said the number of shoppers on Friday also increased 5.1 percent. Sales were up 6.6 percent from last year's $10.7 billion.
"Despite our sluggish economy, shoppers proved they are looking for value and ready to buy," said ShopperTrak's founder Bill Martin, in a statement. "Still, it's just one day. It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday season."
This year's increase in Black Friday sales was the largest since that between 2006 and 2007, before the recession began. Sales jumped more than 8 percent that year.
This year, with retailers offering more and more pre-Black Friday promotions, sales were also up 3.8 percent the week before Thanksgiving.
Customers turned out in droves this year, as Target, Macy's, Kohl's, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys 'R' Us all announced their earliest openings ever, hoping to gain an edge on each other.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Black Friday sales jump 6.6 percent, set new record
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15 comments:
We are going to need you to discontinue posting any positive news related to the economy. The tin fil hat wearers are not comfortable reading anything positive and only want to scream about how Obama has destroyed George W Bush's America.
Black Friday is over and done with.
Hopefully, you won't write any more about it, period.
I concur, such positive stories about the economy can't be good...FOR THE GOP! Keep up the good reporting. Obama 2012 with a Congress to match!
With retail it is all about margins. You can have record sales but if stores are discounting their margins with discounting which seems what is happening; it really does makes not any difference whatsoever.
Here's the problem.
One day does not a season or fiscal year make.
While sales might be up 6.6% for Friday, there are still many shopping days until Christmas.
If my company runs a BOGO next week that we didn't run last year, our sales for the same period versus year ago will be up dramatically - BUT - if the rest of the quarter isn't good, we could actually be down compared to last year.
I was at Northlake Mall today and it was great. More people than usual but parked up close, no lines in any of the stores.
I hope people do the same thing next year on Black Friday, as I will wait until Black Saturday to do my shopping.
A quarter is 91 days...typical media and we all get excited about a day where retailers give their product away....who made sales profitably is wait to be seen..anybody can give it away...the history of retail is littered with companies that gave it away and went away...
Mr. Portillo,
Are you familiar with the concept of "constant dollars"? It is a far more reliable metric for computing economic growth, as it accounts for inflation. According to ShadowStats.com, which calculates true inflation rather than the doctored numbers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation has been running at over 7% during 2011 (see http://www.shadowstats.com/).
So true Black Friday spending was DOWN.
So people spent their limited funds early, and ran their credit card balances up, buying steeply discounted, poorly made items, mostly shipped here from offshore. Remind me why this is such good news. If our economy depends upon people using poor judgement to help move junk from stores to landfills, we're in deeper trouble than the media are willing to say. After all, who buys advertising?
If you get in my way at a special, I will fight you.
Sales were up and this article is simply stating the facts like a good newspaper should. Everyone can argue about what it means but give the guy a break, he's doing his job.
NO... All this good news will destroy the GOP's plans to fire more teachers and firefighters to protect tax cuts for the rich. We must send police with pepper spray to the Observer NOW!!
My wife certainly did her part...
you mean Black Thursday.
Perhaps there was a rush to buy pepper spray?
All this might indicate is how desperate people are to take advantage of bargains. It may be all they can afford.
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