When the dust settled from the fist fights over great deals on electronics and other gifts, the sales numbers came in and showed a record high for Black Friday across the US. But for those shoppers too timid or too smart to stand in line to shove their fellow shoppers for material goods, the internet proved to be their best opportunity to take advantage of special holiday savings.
The online consumers seem to have won out, with the online retail sales for that one shopping day topping $1 billion for the first time ever. Savvy shoppers stayed home or shopped via tablet and mobile phone, racking up savings while contributing to the retailers’ bottom line, with this year’s internet sales showing an increase of about 26% over last year.
Interestingly, ShopperTrak recorded visitors to physical stores were actually down over previous years, currently estimating that this year’s Black Friday sales for brick-and-mortars came in around $11 billion. This decrease in physical shopping and corresponding increase in online shopping may prove that consumers are more comfortable in their digital skins than before, and retailers might do well to remember that in the face of strong sentiments against businesses that encouraged holiday work hours.
The special pricing will continue to be offered by many retailers through Monday, as it is commonly known as Cyber Monday in reference to the deals that online retailers and business websites will offer internet shoppers. If this year’s traffic is any indication, though, shopping from home may replace the barrage of consumers for future Fridays.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
