Just when you thought you'd heard the last of Black Friday, the results are in! The National Retail Federation (NRF) reports that retail industry sales were up 5.1% during the month of November, and total retail sales were up 6.9% year-over-year. Topping the list was sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (11.3%), as well as electronics (6.1%), and clothing and accessories (8.2%).
DisplaySearch, a division of NPD Group, claims that, in the technology sector, LCD TVs, GPS systems, digital photo frames, camera accessories, and digital SLRs sold well during the first week of the holiday shopping season. LCD TVs outsold plasmas, while HD DVD players outsold Blu-ray (although Blu-ray led in terms of revenue share). Notebook sales also increased by 29% compared to last year.
"Consumers started the holiday shopping season with a bang," enthused Rosalind Wells, the NRF's Chief Economist.
And December is also looking up, as Wells adds that consumers reported only having completed, on average, 36.4% of their total holiday shopping.
Looking even further forward to 2008, DisplaySearch V.P. of Industry Analysis Stephen Baker says that we'll see a stronger emphasis on bundles, add-ons, and accessories as retailers hustle to make profit rather than sell volume. This makes sense, given the rapid price drops we've seen in many product categories as of late, for reasons ranging from price erosion, to the strength of the Canadian dollar. Baker also says that more attention will be paid to added-value services, like customer support, and an overall positive in-store experience. We already see an emphasis on this, through retailers like Lowe's, which just entered the Canadian market with a major focus on offering an improved customer experience.
In addition to the "hot" tech items listed above, see a few other good gift ideas in a previous blog entry. Tech gifts overall are certainly in abundance - happy holiday shopping!
Showing posts with label national retail federation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national retail federation. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Cyber Monday Shoppers Go Wild
Cyber Monday is the Monday after the U.S. Thanksgiving long weekend, and is named as such because of shoppers' tendencies to head to their computers for some post-turkey online shopping. This year was no different, with a total of 72 million shoppers expected to have made online purchases that day (according to a study conducted on behalf of Shop.org, the Website that named the day "Cyber Monday"). This is up from 60.7 million in 2006, and 59 million in 2005. What I infer from these figures is one of two things: more people are shopping online, or more people are shopping period. Either way, the point is that more people are shopping.Although "official" figures for Cyber Monday haven't yet been released, the National Retail Federation (NRF) says that CyberMonday.com, a Website that compiles promotions and deals from more than 550 online retailers, tracked three times more traffic by 1 p.m. in the afternoon on that day than it had in the previous year. That equated to more than one-million visitors in just the first 13 hours of the day!
Cyber Monday is such a hit in the U.S. that the NRF holds a Shop@Lunch event in Washington, DC, where workers can surf for the best deals while munching on some mid-day grub. This is probably a good idea, since the Shop.org survey (which was conducted by BIGresearch) discovered that 54.5% of workers with Internet access planned to shop from work. So hey, why not encourage them to do so on their lunch hour rather than using up valuable company time to find the latest Tickle Me Elmo for their nieces and nephews? Surprisingly, men were dubbed more likely to shop while at work than women (57.3% vs. 51.7%). Not surprisingly, young adults, aged 18-24, were the most likely to do so at 72.9%. This year, more than 200 people attended the Shop@Lunch event in Washington.
Cyber Monday is such a hit in the U.S. that the NRF holds a Shop@Lunch event in Washington, DC, where workers can surf for the best deals while munching on some mid-day grub. This is probably a good idea, since the Shop.org survey (which was conducted by BIGresearch) discovered that 54.5% of workers with Internet access planned to shop from work. So hey, why not encourage them to do so on their lunch hour rather than using up valuable company time to find the latest Tickle Me Elmo for their nieces and nephews? Surprisingly, men were dubbed more likely to shop while at work than women (57.3% vs. 51.7%). Not surprisingly, young adults, aged 18-24, were the most likely to do so at 72.9%. This year, more than 200 people attended the Shop@Lunch event in Washington.
In addition to offering neat promotions and deals, 24.7% of online sites offered free shipping for orders placed on Cyber Monday. As mentioned in a previous blog entry, 72.2% of online retailers planned some sort of promotion for the day, up from just 42.7% in 2005.
When shopping becomes an organized event at work, you know that the industry is on to something big.
[Photo: A few office workers attempt to snag the best online deals while attending the Shop@Lunch event that took place in Washington, DC on Cyber Monday: November 26.]
When shopping becomes an organized event at work, you know that the industry is on to something big.
[Photo: A few office workers attempt to snag the best online deals while attending the Shop@Lunch event that took place in Washington, DC on Cyber Monday: November 26.]
Monday, November 26, 2007
Results are in for Black Friday: Less Money, But More Shoppers
There's likely one question on everyone's mind this Cyber Monday: how did the Black Friday shopping extravaganza pan out in the U.S? Aside from playing a large part in U.S. retailer revenue for the year and holiday season, Black Friday provides a glimpse into what the year's holiday shopping season might be like overall. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the number of shoppers during the Black Friday weekend was up 4.8% to 147 million; but dollars per shopper were down 3.5% to US$347.44.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. What it means is that there were more people shopping for smaller-ticket items rather than large purchases. Not to mention that the average selling price of many high-ticket items (especially flat-panel TVs) has dropped considerably since last year.
NRF President Tracy Mullin says that hot items this Black Friday were things like digital photo frames, laptops, and cashmere sweaters. Last year, the coveted items were higher-ticket buys, like high-definition TVs. Perhaps consumers have a more giving nature this season, having purchased something for themselves last year. This year, men shopped more than women, outspending them at $393.63 vs. $303.95.
Encouragingly, consumer electronics items accounted for 35.7% of the purchases. Books, CDs, DVDs, videos, or video games accounted for 41.7%. This will likely contribute to a welcome upsurge in final sales numbers for the CD and DVD market, which has been plagued by piracy and counterfeit materials for years. The most popular items included clothing and accessories at 46.8%. Other "hot" shopping items were toys (28.2%) and gift cards (21%).
Sales also started earlier this year, as more stores decided to open at midnight (and even earlier!) The strategy seemed to work, as 14.3% of consumers left the house to shop prior to 4 a.m.; up from 12.4% last year.
"Knowing that consumers would be challenged by the current economic environment, retailers hoped that higher traffic would offset lower individual spending, which it did," explained Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch, which conducted the poll for NRF. "...The holiday season is off to a good start."
Although discount stores led the pack, snagging 55.1% of the shoppers, it was nice to see that specialty retailers came in second at 43.2%. Traditional department stores received 38.7% of the traffic, while Websites welcomed 31.6%.
Today, nicknamed "Cyber Monday", will extend the deals to the Web, and will contribute more sales to the bottom line of what looks to be a positive holiday shopping season. Although NRF is still sticking to its estimation of a 4% rise in holiday sales this year, Mullin advises that final holiday shopping results won't be available until the last two weeks of December. Stay tuned.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. What it means is that there were more people shopping for smaller-ticket items rather than large purchases. Not to mention that the average selling price of many high-ticket items (especially flat-panel TVs) has dropped considerably since last year.
NRF President Tracy Mullin says that hot items this Black Friday were things like digital photo frames, laptops, and cashmere sweaters. Last year, the coveted items were higher-ticket buys, like high-definition TVs. Perhaps consumers have a more giving nature this season, having purchased something for themselves last year. This year, men shopped more than women, outspending them at $393.63 vs. $303.95.
Encouragingly, consumer electronics items accounted for 35.7% of the purchases. Books, CDs, DVDs, videos, or video games accounted for 41.7%. This will likely contribute to a welcome upsurge in final sales numbers for the CD and DVD market, which has been plagued by piracy and counterfeit materials for years. The most popular items included clothing and accessories at 46.8%. Other "hot" shopping items were toys (28.2%) and gift cards (21%).
Sales also started earlier this year, as more stores decided to open at midnight (and even earlier!) The strategy seemed to work, as 14.3% of consumers left the house to shop prior to 4 a.m.; up from 12.4% last year.
"Knowing that consumers would be challenged by the current economic environment, retailers hoped that higher traffic would offset lower individual spending, which it did," explained Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch, which conducted the poll for NRF. "...The holiday season is off to a good start."
Although discount stores led the pack, snagging 55.1% of the shoppers, it was nice to see that specialty retailers came in second at 43.2%. Traditional department stores received 38.7% of the traffic, while Websites welcomed 31.6%.
Today, nicknamed "Cyber Monday", will extend the deals to the Web, and will contribute more sales to the bottom line of what looks to be a positive holiday shopping season. Although NRF is still sticking to its estimation of a 4% rise in holiday sales this year, Mullin advises that final holiday shopping results won't be available until the last two weeks of December. Stay tuned.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Black Friday Update
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) there isn't much to report just yet about Black Friday: it turns out no "preliminary" results will be released at all (they used that term mistakenly). But I did promise to follow up once the statement was made, so here it is.
NRF had previously projected that sales would rise 4% when compared to last year, for a total of US$474.5 billion, and is sticking with that estimated figure thus far. NRF spokesperson Scott Krugman tells me that final Black Friday results won't be released until Sunday, November 25.
For now, what we do know is that the best deals were found on electronics (especially flat-panel TVs), jewelry, clothing, and toys. But discounts were also being offered on small-ticket items that are ideal for gift-giving, like digital photo frames, hand mixers, and sterling silver jewelry.
"While many of these items will remain popular during the holiday season," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin, "there is strong interest in them today simply because the prices are irresistible."
To pass up turkey and stuffing for long lines in freezing weather (especially in cities like New York where it felt like -2 at midnight!), the deals must be pretty darned irresistible, indeed!
In the online arena, NRF says that 72.2% of retailers plan a special promotion for what's known as "Cyber Monday", which is a drastic increase from the 42.7% just two short years ago.
Happy shopping to our neighbours to the south!
NRF had previously projected that sales would rise 4% when compared to last year, for a total of US$474.5 billion, and is sticking with that estimated figure thus far. NRF spokesperson Scott Krugman tells me that final Black Friday results won't be released until Sunday, November 25.
For now, what we do know is that the best deals were found on electronics (especially flat-panel TVs), jewelry, clothing, and toys. But discounts were also being offered on small-ticket items that are ideal for gift-giving, like digital photo frames, hand mixers, and sterling silver jewelry.
"While many of these items will remain popular during the holiday season," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin, "there is strong interest in them today simply because the prices are irresistible."
To pass up turkey and stuffing for long lines in freezing weather (especially in cities like New York where it felt like -2 at midnight!), the deals must be pretty darned irresistible, indeed!
In the online arena, NRF says that 72.2% of retailers plan a special promotion for what's known as "Cyber Monday", which is a drastic increase from the 42.7% just two short years ago.
Happy shopping to our neighbours to the south!
Happy Black Friday!
It's Black Friday today, and many U.S. stores opened long before any of us had risen from slumber. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that 132.9 million Americans will shop this weekend, including Saturday and Sunday in addition to today. Many of these shoppers will fall into the 18-24 age bracket. Will this year's Black Friday compare to 2006? Reuters reports that the Palisades Mall in New York City opened at 3 a.m., and lines had quickly formed at stores like Apple, Macy's, Old Navy and Circuit City. J.C. Penney opened to the public at 4 a.m., Toys R Us and Best Buy at 5 a.m., and Macy's at 6 a.m. In Geneva, IL, a line-up of about 150 people was cited to be in front of the Best Buy store, while big crowds had arrived at Sears and Kmart stores in the area to snag great deals on items like digital cameras, TVs, and toys.
In California, the San Francisco Chronicle says that people in the Bay Area were already forming lines yesterday at stores that weren't set to open until 4 a.m. today! CompUSA decided to start the festivities early, and began operation at 9 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, over in Washington, L.L. Bean is opening a full 24 hours a day from now until Christmas Eve (December 24), says the Washington Post. J.C. Penney and Kohl's opened at 4 a.m., while Kmart employees got to sleep in until 7 a.m.
MarketWatch reports that the number of GAP outlets scheduled to have opened at midnight was more than double the number last year.
What's really disturbing is those anxious shoppers who have waited in line the night, or even several nights, before Black Friday in order to take advantage of the best deals. Whatever happened to a nice Thanksgiving meal? It seems to be more like "rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, I'm outta here to buy a TV!" Anyway...
The NRF's President and CEO is scheduled to release preliminary Black Friday results today at noon. I will try to follow up with these results and report them here.
As for the shopping frenzy, I've inferred two things from these results:
1) people seem to be seeking out, more than anything else, electronics, clothes, and toys. (That, or these are where the greatest deals can be found). And
2) if people are leaving the house at midnight to shop, it seems that one thing they are thankful for is money in the bank!
[Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/]
In California, the San Francisco Chronicle says that people in the Bay Area were already forming lines yesterday at stores that weren't set to open until 4 a.m. today! CompUSA decided to start the festivities early, and began operation at 9 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, over in Washington, L.L. Bean is opening a full 24 hours a day from now until Christmas Eve (December 24), says the Washington Post. J.C. Penney and Kohl's opened at 4 a.m., while Kmart employees got to sleep in until 7 a.m.
MarketWatch reports that the number of GAP outlets scheduled to have opened at midnight was more than double the number last year.
What's really disturbing is those anxious shoppers who have waited in line the night, or even several nights, before Black Friday in order to take advantage of the best deals. Whatever happened to a nice Thanksgiving meal? It seems to be more like "rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, I'm outta here to buy a TV!" Anyway...
The NRF's President and CEO is scheduled to release preliminary Black Friday results today at noon. I will try to follow up with these results and report them here.
As for the shopping frenzy, I've inferred two things from these results:
1) people seem to be seeking out, more than anything else, electronics, clothes, and toys. (That, or these are where the greatest deals can be found). And
2) if people are leaving the house at midnight to shop, it seems that one thing they are thankful for is money in the bank!
[Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/]
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