This year’s Black Friday sales increased by 6.6%, and consumers spent $11.4 billion. It hasn’t been this high since 2006 with an 8.3% increase. Many stores such as: Gap, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Toys “R” US Inc. and more opened their doors earlier than usual which contributed to the increase in sales this year. Additionally, online sales grew 24.3%. Many consumers used their mobile devices to compare prices. The usage of mobile devices to purchase items totaled 9.8% compared to the 3.2% of last year. iPads and iPhones also contributed to the online sales by 10%.
Another reason why Black Friday sales were higher this year was because of the increase in consumers spending money this year. There were about 226 million consumers shopping in stores and online compared to last year’s 212 million. This year also attracted a younger crowd because of the earlier hours.
Although Black Friday sales increased from previous years, this does not mean consumers will continue to spend throughout the holiday shopping season. Many people do not plan to do any more shopping other than what they spent on Black Friday. Compared to last year, 42% of Americans are planning on spending less this holiday season.
To read more please check out: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/29/pf/holiday_sales/index.htm
