Traffic at most retail stores for Black Friday shopping has gone down tremendously by around 28.3%- which can be compared to the level attained in 2019. This has been due to most shoppers spending their time buying their products online- leading to them starting the entire tradition of shopping a lot early- as reported by preliminary data from Sensormatic Solutions.
The firm also reported that traffic was definitely up by around 47.5% as compared with levels of the previous year. This time around, in 2020, most shoppers have decided to stay back at home due to their massive fears around the coronavirus pandemic, with most retail stores operating at an extremely reduced rate.
Black Friday Shopping Volume Has Gone Down
Brain Field, the senior director of global retail consulting at Sensormatic, recently stated that it is quite clear that shoppers have been doing their Black Friday shopping way earlier this season- similar to the previous season. He also added that the two main reasons behind these would be the ongoing COVID pandemic, as well as the fears about the supply chain.
The peak time for such shopping in retail stores has been from 1 pm to 3 pm, which is quite similar to the trend that has been in practice over the last couple of years. According to the consulting firm, Black Friday will still be the busiest day of the shopping season, irrespective of the citizens doing their shopping online.
Field also mentioned that the Black Friday shopping was closest to going back to its 2019 levels in the South, followed by the Midwestern region, and then the rest of the country. He was quite dismissive of the mounting fears of COVID, claiming that it wouldn’t have any major impact on consumer behavior.
Online retailers also saw a decline in their Black Friday shopping sales, from $9 billion to $8.9 billion.
