Black Friday Sales Surge in US as Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart Extend Deals

Hordes of US shoppers wanting to get their hands on Black Friday discounts have formed long lines outside of stores even as the shift toward online spending continues to grow.  

People were already forming lines outside of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), J.C Penny and Best Buy Co Inc. (NYSE:BBY) on Thanksgiving afternoon while customers were seen rushing into Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT).

Online shoppers had spent more than US$1.52bn by Thursday evening – a 16.8% increase over last year, according to Adobe Analytics.

“Thanksgiving is shaping up to be a record-breaking shopping day,” said Mickey Mericle, vice president, Marketing and Customer Insights for Adobe.

Chaotic scene with fighting & pushing / shoving @ the #Walmart on Roosevelt Blvd in #Philadelphia during #BlackFriday.#fight #BlackFriday2017 #PHILLY #Sales #mob #flashmob pic.twitter.com/1ypkFzdscw

— Jonathan Lee Riches (@xxxlawsuitxxx) 24 November 2017

While the strong sales are a welcome boost for the tough retail market, businesses have had to slash prices to encourage shoppers to spend money.

Traditionally Black Friday is on not meant to start until, well Friday, but many retailers have been holding sales throughout the week both online and in store in an effort to maximum hype and increase spending.

It has now become a four-day sales event that includes Cyber Monday but some retailers have broken that rule by extending it even further.

Amazon stretches out deals

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) kicked off its sales bonanza 10 days ago with some of the sales including its Amazon Echo smart speaker, Amazon Fire TV Stick and the Kindle e-reader.

The e-commerce giant, which was responsible for introducing Black Friday to the UK in 2011, was also releasing hundreds of short-time-only deals throughout the day. 

Retail technology company, Edited, said discounting in the US has reached record highs this year.

The US fashion retail market had an average promotion of 47% off the full price with accessories the most discounted category.

Wal-Mart and Target in demand

Despite a growing trend towards online shopping, there were still many who have been happy to deal with the crowds in stores.

Wal-Mart’s chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies said it has already experience strong demand for smart TVs, cookware, toys and apparel.

Target said its best-selling items have included Dyson and iRobot vacuums, Beats headphones, the Instant Pot 7-in-1 pressure cooker and Ninja coffee maker. 

UK consumers less enthusiastic 

Meanwhile, across the other side of the Atlantic, Black Friday got off to a slow start in the UK.

The number of shoppers online between midnight and 7am was 24% lower than last year, said e-commerce trends service PCA Predict. It followed an 11% rise in shopping over the previous week.

Don’t forget.. pic.twitter.com/LsC21iZp1K

— Barry from Watford (@barryfromwat) 23 November 2017

nobody remembers the real meaning of Black Friday, when Jesus burst into the temple and got 60% off a nespresso

— joe (@mutablejoe) 21 November 2017

But by mid-morning, retail researchers were reporting an increase in transactions compared to last year.  

Retail researchers said online shoppers were expected to spend £1.15bn – up 15% on the same day last year, while High Street sales were forecast to total £1.45bn, up 4% on 2016.

According to predictions by VoucherCodes and the Centre for Retail Research, shoppers are expected to spend £7.8bn over the four-day shopping event, up 7% on last year.

John Lewis, Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO), Argos and Game have extended their high street opening hours and were a few of many retailers in the UK to offer days of deals.

Like the US, the retail market in the UK has been under pressure as consumers have been squeezed by higher inflation following last year’s Brexit vote. 

Story by ProactiveInvestors