Black Friday shoppers adjust habits as landscape changes
Jennifer Kelly used to follow the traditional Black Friday shopping plan — wake up about 6 a.m. and brave the crowds and traffic to seek out the deals.
This year, she had a more focused approach. She started later — at 7:15 — and was much more focused on her top items.
“I just can’t stand the lines anymore,” Ms. Kelly said as she loaded a flat-screen TV into her car outside Target in Harmar. She shopped for only about a half-hour and found what she was looking for.
“I have a few more stores to hit,” said Ms. Kelly of Indiana Township. “Hopefully, I’ll have as much luck there as I did here.”
Black Friday may still be the traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season, but the landscape has been changing as consumer habits shift, and this year is
no exception. Even the National Retail Federation’s forecast has, for the first time, added Cyber Monday to its consumer survey, which spans Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, as well as Small Business Saturday and Sunday.
It’s yet another sign of how quickly online shopping has merged into daily transactions.
Data tracking firm Adobe Analytics expects online sales this holiday season to clock in at $107.4 billion, an increase of 13.8 percent, and in-store retail is expected to grow 10 percent less.
“Cyber Monday is expected to become the largest online shopping day in history, generating $6.6 billion in sales, 16.5 percent growth compared to last year,” Adobe said. “One out of every six dollars this holiday season will be spent between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, leading to $19.7 billion in sales.”
In all, including online and brick-and-mortar sales, the National Retail Federation expects holiday retail sales in November and December — excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants — to increase between 3.6 percent and 4 percent for a total of $678.75 billion to $682 billion, up from $655.8 billion last year.
Online shopping may be growing, but it still doesn’t quite dominate. In fact, about 88 percent of retail sales still take place at a brick-and-mortar store, noted Charlie O’Shea, an analyst for Moody’s Investor Services. These days, shoppers use a combination of store visits and web clicks.
And retailers with real estate are upping their game to compete with the likes of ecommerce giant Amazon — developing better online experiences and better shipping, he said.
Another thing to note is that holiday shopping isn’t confined to the few weeks before Christmas.
“The shopping season is so much longer,” Mr. O’Shea noted. “Walmart and Amazon have been battling on price. Target and Best Buy have jumped into the fray. So it’s been a hyper-competitive environment even without a holiday to add more fuel to the fire.”
Coupons draw traffic
Weezy Cohen, 9, of the North Side, and her mother, Tiney Dean, 41, of the North Side, don’t usually go Black Friday shopping.
“I was off school, and my mom was off work, and there was nothing else to do,” Weezy said, adding that they arrived at Monroeville Mall at exactly 9:10 a.m.
She toted a full bag from Justice that included Christmas night clothes, hair scrunchies, shirts and a number of other accessories.
Ms. Dean, though, was finishing up her Christmas shopping for friends and family. “The stores that have really great deals — like JC Penny and Victoria’s Secret, the places that send out coupons— they’re really busy,” she said.
This year, about 69 percent of Americans — about 164 million people — are planning to shop the long holiday weekend, according to National Retail Federation.
“The survey found that 20 percent plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day (32 million) but Black Friday will remain the busiest day with 70 percent planning to shop then (115 million),” the trade association noted.
“A substantial 43 percent are expected to shop on Saturday (71 million), with 76 percent saying they will do so specifically to support Small Business Saturday. On Sunday, 21 percent expect to shop (35 million) and 48 percent are expected to shop on Cyber Monday (78 million).”
Post-turkey day outing
So much about shoe shopping has changed since Jerry Antoncic, 57, started working at Little’s Shoes in Squirrel Hill almost four decades ago. But not his 1970s taste in loud blazers — and not Black Friday.
“Fortunately, this is one day that has remained the same,” he said, helping Jamesen Goodman, 70, to a pair of grey booties.
It’s because of people like Ms. Goodman, who lives in Silver Spring, Md., and has made a tradition of the postturkey day trip to Little’s with her daughter, who lives in Squirrel Hill, that the neighborhood shoe store has retained its allure.
Mr. Antoncic expected several out of town families on Friday.
“The more chaotic it gets, the more people buy and the quicker,” he said.
Sticking to a list
Husband and wife Dave and Karen Smith of Monro eville finished all of their holiday shopping for their grand children in under two hours.
Ms. Smith, 68, said she always makes a list beforehand. “I’m not a shopper, but I do it for Christmas.”
As part of their holiday tradition, she purchased two stuffed animals from Kay’s Jewelers to support St. Jude Children Research Hospital.
Mr. Smith, 69, noted that this year’s Black Friday is a far cry from the ones a decade ago.
“The online shopping is probably hurting the mall,” Mr. Smith said.
Some on internet opt out
As shoppers searched for deals both online and in stores, a few decided to take the day after Thanksgiving off.
Outdoor-goods retailer REI Co-op marked its third year in a row of opting out. That meant 151 stores went dark and no online sales were processed on Black Friday. Instead, the company said it paid its 12,000 employees to spend the day outdoors.
“Right now, I think people are looking for a moment to take a breath, reground themselves and come together,” Jerry Stritzk, REI’s CEO, said in a statement.
REI also launched a new search engine at REI.com/ opt-outside to encourage outdoor activities.
Online fashion hub Mod Cloth also took Friday off. The vintage clothing retailer shut down its website and gave employees the day off so “workers and shoppers can focus on things that make them feel good — namely donating to charity.”
The company, founded in 2002 in Pittsburgh and acquired by Walmart earlier this year, said it’s accepting nominations for employees who do outstanding work in their communities and will make awards to charities of their choice. It also is donating merchandise to Dress for Success, a nonprofit that provides professional attire for women.