It seems many retailers have much to be thankful for this year. Both nationally and in the Springfield area, businesses reported sales climbed on the Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday consumer holidays compared to last year.
According to the National Retail Federation, Black Friday weekend sales were up 3.5 percent compared to 2011, attracting 89 million shoppers this year. Sales on Thanksgiving Day – a newer phenomenon ahead of the early morning Black Friday deals – at retailers such as Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. attracted 35 million shoppers, up 20 percent compared to 29 million last year.
In Springfield, Maschino’s home furnishings owner Nancy Dornan said sales during the holiday weekend are helping to cap off a rebound year.
She said revenues through November are up 11 percent compared to the same period in 2011, though the retailer is coming off back-to-back years of sales 40 percent below its prerecession peak in 2007.
“We were just swamped,” Dornan said of Thanksgiving weekend at the store, which carries gas fireplaces to upscale patio furniture. “It was an excellent weekend. We were very strong with store traffic and very strong with sales.”
Larry Whiteley, spokesman for outdoor retail destination Bass Pro Shops, said sales are up this year, though he said the private company would not disclose revenues.
“On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we started our Christmas sales. This is the first year we’ve done that,” Whiteley said, adding that its stores were open on Thanksgiving, but they’ve always been open on the holiday. “I was in (Springfield’s Outdoor World) and it was packed. We’ve noticed that it has become a tradition for some families who come in from out of town, and part of their Thanksgiving is to run over and visit Bass Pro.”
To attract customers on the day after Thanksgiving – the day that is said to put many retailers in the black – Bass Pro opened early and had a six-hour sale featuring a variety of outdoor items such as its house brand Redhead jeans, normally priced between $19 and $24, on sale for $10 before 11 a.m.
Whiteley said sales in Springfield and around the country were up compared to 2011.
“We are very, very pleased with this year’s sales,” Whiteley said, though he declined to disclose the percentage increase.
According to
Walmart.com, 22 million customers visited its stores on Thanksgiving with sales events starting at 8 p.m. From 8 p.m. to midnight, the company processed nearly 10 million transactions, and following its special sales on Black Friday, the retailer reported an estimated 1.3 million televisions and 250,000 bicycles were sold.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said the company would not disclose sales figures for the Springfield market or nationally.
Through research firm BIGinsight, the National Retail Federation conducted a survey of 4,005 shoppers on Nov. 23–24 and found that eight in 10 took advantage of weekend promotions to buy nongift items. Nearly six in 10 bought clothing and clothing accessories.
Of the gift buyers, 34.6 percent bought toys, items such as books, CDs and video games; 39.8 percent purchased electronics; and 37.7 percent bought jewelry. More than half of shoppers – 53.5 percent – visited department stores, up from 48.7 percent in 2011. This year, discount stores drew 39.4 percent of shoppers, while 33 percent shopped at electronics stores and 29 percent visited clothing stores.
According to the NRF, more than 129 million shoppers were estimated to take advantage of online sales on Cyber Monday, the first weekday after Black Friday. The shopping holiday appears to be catching on in popularity as 85 percent of retailers offered special deals, according to a Shop.org survey.
The total number of shoppers this year was up 5.2 percent compared to 2011 and up 20.9 percent compared to 2010.
Shop.org reported shoppers spent an average of $194.46 online on Cyber Monday, an increase of 13 percent compared to the same day last year. According to digital analytics company comScore, online sales on Black Friday topped $1 billion – a 26 percent increase compared to last year – and online shoppers spent $1.5 billion on Cyber Monday, making it potentially the biggest e-commerce day on record.
Dornan said Maschino’s ran sales on Black Friday weekend, but she didn’t do any extra advertising.
“I’m making notes of things I want to do next year and Black Friday is one of the things we want to invest more time in from a social media standpoint and an e-blast standpoint,” Dornan said.
She said most sales were Christmas related, such as gas logs and fireplaces, but there was a surprising amount of patio furniture sold.
“I have seen a trend with people buying patio furniture earlier than is usual,” Dornan said. “I don’t know if there is more disposable income, but I think there is a greater sense of confidence [in the economy]. Along with the confidence is the ability of people to say, ‘I’m going to invest in some things that will benefit me and my everyday living.’”
