Black Friday sees record online as US shoppers stay home

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Black Friday online sales hit a new record this year as pandemic-wary Americans filled virtual carts instead of real ones.

Consumers spent an estimated $9 billion on U.S. retail websites on Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping. That was a 22% increase over the previous record of $7.4 billion set in 2019.

Meanwhile, traffic to physical stores plummeted as retailers tried to prevent crowds by cutting their hours and limiting doorbuster deals. U.S. store visits dropped by 52% on Black Friday, according to Sensormatic Solutions, a retail tracker. Traffic was slower in the Northeast and West than in the Midwest and South, said Brian Field, Sensormatic’s senior director of global retail consulting.

Jewelry and footwear saw some of the biggest in-person sales declines, according to RetailNext, a shopping tracker. Apparel sales were down 50%, while sales of home goods fell by 39%.



Shoppers pass an Indigo Friday 40% Off sign Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, on Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile shopping district. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-shopping-coronavirus-pandemic-online-shopping-790e862ab1101e3d73e30a99ab04b70e

[Maxheader]

1. There will be nothing but..

FedEx and USPS and regular mail carriers running around

Out here in country...

[Sherman A1]

2. I did some on Friday and Saturday

and probably more today. Some of the deals on things I would be buying anyway for my hobbies were too good to pass up.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. "Traffic was slower in the Northeast and West than in the Midwest and South"

Blue states are taking COVID much more seriously than red states.

Who would have guessed?

[GoneOffShore]

4. Damn - no store riots on YouTube with Walter's and Karen's fighting over bargains!

Where will our entertainment come from?

[ssgbryan]

5. Went for a computer upgrade this year.

Scalpers have all of the CPUs & GPUs, but the black friday, 34" 1440p monitors are affordable. Mine was $282, including tax, shipping, & a 4 year extended warranty.

[forgotmylogin]

6. I like the "Indigo Friday" designation.

I know historically that's the day retailers were able to get "back in the black" under the convention that losses are printed in red, and profits in black on balance sheets.

But "Black Friday" has taken on an ominous tone since people were getting hurt due to early line ups and door-busting stunts resulting in stampedes and fights.

Hopefully one slight silver-lining of the pandemic is it has ended "Black Friday" one-day sales and the resulting pandemonium for good, deferring holiday Friday sales to websites online, and having week-long "Indigo" sales periods instead of one very stressful in-person-only blowout day after Thanksgiving.

Giving it a new color and designation hopefully can shed some of Black Friday's bad karma.