Americans splashed out record sums on Black Friday online deals last week but fewer of them went shopping in person, according to initial figures.
Sales in stores during Thanksgiving and Black Friday dropped between 4 and 7 per cent compared with last year, according to a preliminary analysis by the data provider RetailNext.
Footfall was estimated to have declined even more — between 5 and 9 per cent — although those consumers who did show up spent more, driving average transaction values up about 3 per cent.
It was at least the fourth consecutive year of declines in both traffic and sales recorded by RetailNext. A group that uses a different methodology, ShopperTrak, found shopper visits for the two-day period fell just 1 per cent, less steep than the 1.7 per cent decline it recorded a year ago.
But as in-store business continued to weaken, online sales have soared to new highs.
Online spending on Black Friday leapt 24 per cent from a year ago to $6.22bn, according to Adobe Analytics. Average discounts included 27 per cent off toys and 18 per cent off televisions and computers.
Cyber Monday, traditionally the main event for online bargains, was shaping up to be the largest online shopping day in US history with a forecast $7.8bn sales haul.
Yet fewer stores felt the need to wait for Cyber Monday, or even Black Friday, to offer big discounts, further reducing incentives to hit the mall.
For the first time this year, online prices on Thanksgiving were as low as they were on Black Friday. Thanksgiving has become the fastest growing internet shopping day, said Adobe, with sales up 28 per cent from a year ago.
Although Amazon remains dominant online, nearly all big retailers have been boosted by the online spending surge, according to separate research by Edison Trends.
Online sales over Thanksgiving and Black Friday were up 48 per cent at Target, 34 per cent at Macy’s and 23 per cent at Walmart. Amazon’s rivals have been investing heavily in ecommerce and logistics to better compete.
One exception to the digital sales bonanza was Sears, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month. The department store chain’s online sales collapsed almost half from a year ago.
In another threat to bricks and mortar retail, US consumers are getting more comfortable buying more expensive items online.
The average order tracked by Adobe was worth $146, 8.5 per cent higher than last year. About a third of purchases were made on mobile phones, compared with less than 30 per cent last year.
“Consumers are clearly feeling more confident in buying higher-ticket items on their smartphones,” said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights.
Brian Field, director of global retail consulting at ShopperTrak, noted there were many more important shopping days ahead over the festive season, including four Saturdays in December before Christmas.
“Shopping in physical stores during the holidays continues to be an exciting annual event,” he said.
