Retail stores missed customers on Black Friday

On Thanksgiving, the U.S. retail foot traffic dropped more than 90 percent.

Consumer activity was at pre-recession levels during Black Friday, despite the pandemic, restrictions, and the general mood of retail distress. At the same time, the shift of consumers from traditional channels to the Internet accelerated. 

Research firm Sensormatic Solutions estimates that physical retail stores lost more than 28 percent of their traffic on Black Friday compared to pre-recession 2019. Americans were eager to shop online – online traffic was up 47.5 percent. 

U.S. retail visits dropped more than 90 percent on Thanksgiving Day after many major retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, decided not to open stores over the holiday, CNBC wrote. 

According to Adobe Analytics, online retailers generated about $8.9 billion in revenue on Black Friday versus $9 billion a year earlier. Thus, year-over-year sales were down, albeit slightly, for the first time. On Thanksgiving, Americans spent $5.1 billion online, matching pre-recession levels. 

Adobe predicts online retailers’ sales on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year, will be $10.2 billion to $11.3 billion. Shoppers, however, may face a variety of out-of-stock items as difficulties in the supply chain have led to lower inventory levels at some companies. NRF predicts that holiday sales in November and December will rise 8.5% to 10.5%, between $843.4 billion and $859 billion.