Black Friday Crowds Lift Holiday Hopes
Black Friday crowds broke records.
A record 226 million shoppers looked for deals and holiday gifts at boutiques and websites during the Black Friday weekend, according to a National Retail Federation survey,which was conducted by BIGresearch. The crowd count shot up from 212 million during the 2010 Black Friday weekend.
A significant group of shoppers gave their support to earlier shopping hours this Black Friday weekend; 28.7 million people shopped during Thanksgiving Day, up from 22.2 million in the previous year said Phil Rist, executive vice president of BIGresearch.
The big wave of shopping crowds was good news for apparel retailers. More than 51.4 percent purchased clothing and clothing accessories during the weekend. Many were attracted by generous discounts. Wet Seal offered discounts of up to 50 percent. The Gap offered discounts of up to 60 percent.
But a great start for the holiday sales season may not result into a good ending for retailers, said Liz Pierce an analyst for Roth CapitalPartners in Newport Beach, Calif.
“This weekend’s results were definitely encouraging, there is still the question at what cost, i.e., what were the margin implications,” Pierce wrote in a Nov. 27 research note. With a heavily promotional holiday season looming, Pierce maintained her forecast that holiday sales would only increase 2.8 percent compared to the previous year. —Andrew Asch
