Obvious reference to the rock band AC/DC aside, let’s get right to the point. According to National Retail Federation’s Holiday Survey, Black Friday weekend went like this. More consumers (195M in 09 vs. 172M in 08) spent less money per capita ($343 per person down from $373 in 08); total dollar volume was up $41.2 Billion in 09 vs. $41 Billion in 08.
What I find more interesting is best illustrated by my wife. My wife and Sister-In-Law went shopping from midnight until 9AM the next morning. Mind you, my wife treasures her sleep and if given the choice, would have rather slept than shopped. But the deals were too good and selection to great. Also they were not alone in their nocturnal quest to get “the deals they deserved”.
This economy has forced consumers and retailers alike to change their behavior in order to maintain a level of consumption each are accustom to. Some notable examples of retailers risky behavior include several opened on Thanksgiving (ex. Old Navy) or opened at Midnight Friday morning (ex. Toy’s R Us, Walmart). Did their gamble pay off? Early returns say department stores were the big winners and specialty retailers and deep discounters had a ways to go. And perhaps that was the motivation for retailers to be more creative in their quest to pry money from our tiny claws.
No post about Black Friday would be complete without mention of Cyber Monday. Nearly one quarter of consumers shopped online, approximately 100 million Americans according to National Retail Federation. 87% of retailers offered some special promotion only available online through their eStores. Some promotions featured free shipping or “one day sales” events. Hitwise.com reports that among the top 500 online retailers, Amazon.com took the top spot(15%); Walmart.com came in second(9%); Target was third(5%); BestBuy was forth(3%) and JC Penny fifth(2%). I personally shopped the Apple store and almost bought a laptop, but the $150 discount (biggest I’ve seen all year for Apple) just wasn’t enough to get me to part with my hard won cash.
All-in-all this Holiday shopping season appears to be shaping up as predicted, flat to modest improvement over 2008. What I take away from this as a marketer is that nothing is out of the question in this economy. The more creative an organization can be, the more likely they will be rewarded. Likewise consumers are willing to go the extra mile if they believe the “deals they deserve” are on the line.
rwhite35