Tag: Black Friday

How is Holiday Shopping Season Going for Retailers?

Posted on November 27, 2017 by - Blog

The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts this year’s holiday retail sales to increase by 3-4% over last year, which saw sales reach $655.8 billion. The holiday season of Thanksgiving/Black Friday and Cyber Monday through Christmas accounts for 30-40% of total retail sales for the year. Retail expert Jan Kniffen told CNBC this weekend that online retail sales should grow another 20% this year. Traffic in malls was down 9% over the weekend, and many shoppers tended to showroom, looking at products live in the stores, but then ordering online for a better deal. Retail during the HolidaysEconomist Diane Swonk also reported to the news network’s “Trading Nation” that millennials are continuing to harm brick and mortar retail stores by increasing online shopping, which she predicts will hit 50% of retail sales soon. The NRF reports those young shoppers are spending their money on apparel, electronics, books, music and video games. Home improvement retail still is going strong in stores, though, as they are investing in DIY projects for repairs and remodeling. Those DIY items tend to need in-store experiences to look at the products before buying them.

Source: CNBC.com

December 2017 Calendar Will Influence Holiday Shopping

Posted on September 27, 2017 by - Blog

Black Friday Shopping

In an announcement yesterday, Shoppertrak, a leading provider of shopper analytics, predicted that Friday, November 24th (also known as Black Friday) will be the busiest shopping day of 2017.

For the first time since 2012, there will be four Saturdays in December prior to Christmas Day, influencing shopper behavior. Saturday, December 23rd and Saturday, December 16th are predicted to be the second and third busiest days respectively. Shoppertrak goes on to list their predictions for the top ten shopping days of the year, and claims that those ten busiest days are estimated to account for 40-45 percent of total shopping visits made during the entire 2017 holiday season. It will be essential for brick and mortar retailers to meet the holiday season with sound staffing and inventory strategies.

“The holiday season is prime time for in-store shopping, and this year is no different,” said Brian Field, senior director of advisory services at ShopperTrak. “In fact, because of the rising influence of online, it’s even more important that physical retailers differentiate themselves with knowledgeable associates, stocked shelves and smooth checkout lines to improve customer experiences rather than trying to cut corners in the name of cost savings.”

Timely and insightful retail data analytics like those provided by Accelerated Analytics empower brands to make data-driven inventory decisions and develop a strong inventory strategy. With forecast reports, low inventory and out of stock alerts and more, brands can manage store performance and ensure that their products are on the selling floor during the critical holiday-shopping season and beyond.

Source: Shoppertrak