After Americans flocked nationwide to grab deals on Black Friday, businesses were busy crunching away at this year’s revenue stream in hopes of rebounding from the recession.
For large retailers, the result was promising. However, local retailers did not fair as well. So far this holiday season, local stores have either experienced a normal or decreased flow in customer traffic that has been exacerbated by the recession.
Julie Schafer, a sales manager at local shoe boutique Shoe-A-Holic, said the customer flow was steady throughout the day even though Black Friday coupons had been e-mailed to people on its rewards list.
“It was just an average Friday for us,” Schafer said. “Honestly, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but we usually don’t have a huge influx of people coming in. I think that most people go out to hit the malls for sales.”
Mitra Chester, a designer and owner of local vintage stores Kitsch, Deluxe and Cheep, said the flow of customers was slower on Black Friday than usual because of the sales at malls and large retail stores.
“We had a couple people that came in because they were in town for Thanksgiving and were family members of regular customers, but it was just a slower day than usual just because of the pull away from the downtown area that the malls have,” Chester said.
According to the survey conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail association, 212 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, which is an increase from 195 million last year. In addition, the average shopper this past weekend spent about $365.34, which is up from $343.31 last year. The National Retail Federation estimates that total spending from Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday may reach an estimated $45 billion.
This is good news for retailers who have been searching for relief after being buffeted by a significant decrease in consumer spending since 2008, according to a BIGresearch consumer poll.
“Consumers will still shop with the economy in the back of their minds, but we’re starting to see shoppers take baby steps toward a new normal,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a press release. “As Americans open up their wallets for more discretionary gifts like jewelry or take advantage of sales to buy for themselves, retailers will begin to truly believe that the worst may be behind them.”
However, some industry leaders believe that this should not hinder further spending for the rest of this month.
“The reality is retailers set up a different game plan this season by offering deep discounts and promotions earlier than ever, which has shifted some spending to earlier in the month,” ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin said in a press release. “Ultimately, this is a positive sign for retailers as November monthly performance will be strong and December should still receive a strong boost from procrastinating shoppers in the week leading up to Christmas.”
Many shopping malls around the state showed a significant increase in foot traffic during the Black Friday rush. Linda Collier, the public relations manager for Woodburn Company Stores, said the center is projecting a marked increased in consumer attendance and revenue from the same time last year, when more than 60,000 people flooded the factory outlet’s 97 retailers for its annual 24-hour Moonlight Madness sale that began as early as 7:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Collier said some stores even required additional help to control the lines going into them.
“It was crazy,” said Collier, who was at the factory outlet on Black Friday. “The parking lot gates opened at 7:30 p.m., and by 7 p.m., there were already cars lined up to get in. Most of the stores didn’t open until 10 p.m., so people were just sitting there waiting. It was kind of amazing that people loved it so much that they wanted to get in and get a parking spot.”
Collier said a variety of factors may have contributed to the increase in revenue for retailers, including the longer store hours that began on Thanksgiving night as families finished their festivities and the fair weather that would have otherwise discouraged customers from going to the stores.
“I think we open earlier and earlier every year, because shoppers want it — they love it and they demand it,” Collier said. “So, I think shoppers have benefited more than retailers. Of course, retailers love that they’re spending money and shopping even earlier, but I think people still like to get their shopping done as early as possible.”
Diana Bray, the marketing manager for Valley River Center, said the mall was inundated with customers once it officially opened at 3 a.m.
“It was amazing,” Bray said. “We saw sales and traffic that we have not seen in years. We are just very encouraged and we hope this trend continues throughout the season.”
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