ShopperTrak is reporting that retail sales climbed 8.8 percent for the week ending December 26 compared to the same period last year. December 26th - the day after Christmas - became the second biggest shopping day of the year. This is not suprising because there were some great deals on the 26th. The biggest shopping day was Black Friday. Here is a list of the top shopping days in 2009.
Dealerscope reports that TV and blu-ray player manufacturer Vizio had strong sales during the Black Friday shopping period. Sales for Vizio jumped 40% as it sold 280,000 HDTVs.
The company announced that of the 280,000 TVs sold, 20,000 were 50" and larger- a tenfold increase. Vizio also sold 7,000 high-definition sound bars.
"We consistently strive to offer consumers more and are pleased to see the great success of our high performance products which allow us to continue to grow and expand VIZIO products to a wider range of consumers seeking the latest technology at a great value," the company's co-founder, Laynie Newsome, said as part of the announcement.
Those are very strong sales during a weak economy. Dealerscope says Vizio ran specials through Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart and Target.
Chain Store Agereports that data from First Data Corp. showed transactions increase by 7.9% on Black Friday this year compared to last year.
"Black Friday was better than last year both in terms of transaction growth and total dollars spent at the point of sale," said Silvio Tavares, senior VP investor relations and decision support at First Data. "However, there is reason to remain cautious as our analysis suggests consumers remain very value conscious and paid more often with their debit cards instead of credit cards."
An increase in Black Friday sales seems to indicate the economy is a little healthier but it would be premature to judge the holiday shopping season on a single day. It may have just been a case of a lot of deal hunters out early.
Coremetrics is already providing Cyber Monday data. Coremetrics says 2009's Cyber Monday sales were over 13% higher than in 2008. Cyber Monday also generated 24% more sale than Black Friday. Here are some highliights.
Cyber Monday continued the momentum set by Black Friday. Sales were up 24.1 percent compared to Black Friday 2009.
Consumers spent more per online order ($180.03 versus $170.19 for an increase of 5.8 percent) compared to Black Friday 2009.
Sales were up 13.7 percent compared to Cyber Monday 2008.
The average dollar amount consumers spent per online order rose 38.2 percent from Cyber Monday 2008 ($180.03 versus $130.24), led by apparel retailers.
Consumers bought nearly 10 percent more items per order on Cyber Monday 2009 compared to Black Friday 2009 and nearly 30 percent more compared to Cyber Monday 2008.
Consumer shopping hit its peak from 9-10 a.m. PST, but maintained stronger momentum throughout the day than on Cyber Monday 2008.
A strong Cyber Monday is not a surprise given that many retailers offered big one-day only discounts and discounts are primarily what shoppers are looking for right now. Free shipping also motivates shoppers and many retailers were offering free shipping on Cyber Monday.
An NRF study found people wre buying computers, TVs and winter coats on Black Friday. Andrew Eisner of Retrevo.com says the trend is that Black Friday is turning into more of an online shopping day. He says even Thanksgiving day is becoming an online shopping event. Andrew Eisner says the TV was the hottest item on Black Friday. Laptops were also popular. Take a look:
If you are looking for something from Land's End this weekend is a good time to purchase it. The clothes and home goods retailer is offering 25% off sitewide through November 29th. Land's End also has free shipping with orders of $50.
You can find a list of more deals happening now through Cyber Monday here on shoppersshop.com.
Black Friday Sales: Consumers Buying Computers, TVs and Winter Coats
The National Retail Federation says that retail sales figures are good for Black Friday sales. Customers appeared to be very value-focused, snapping up great deals on laptops, notebooks, big screen TVs and winter coats.
No one seemed to be doing much holiday shopping, other than parents who were buying toys for children. Everyone else was looking for deals for non-holiday purchases. Bloomberg reports:
High-definition TVs, laptops, Zhu Zhu Pets robotic hamsters and winter coats were among the most popular items, according to the federation, a Washington-based trade group. Sales probably met or exceeded retailers' projections, David Schick, a Baltimore-based analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co., wrote in a note to investors after store visits and conversations with employees.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, drew crowds with $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computers and other specials that went on sale at 5 a.m. Best Buy Inc., the biggest electronics chain, used $547.99 42-inch Samsung flat-panel TVs to lure shoppers grappling with the highest unemployment in 26 years. The retailer had bigger early-morning crowds than last year, Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said.
"The surprise news is that they are actually buying for themselves as well, due to pent-up demand and frugal fatigue," Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group Inc. said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. "They are saying 'Let's loosen up the purse strings a little bit,' but it is still cautious spending." NPD, based in Port Washington, New York, is a market research firm.
These results make sense. Many families have been putting of purchases such as computers for work or school, but when the prices came down smart consumers snapped them up. Look for more electronics deals on Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday Deal: Shu Uemura Offering 20% Off, Free Shipping Through December 1
Here's another great beauty deal for Shu Uemura fans. The website is offering 20% off purchases of $50+, plus free shipping. Just use code WISH09. The code is good through December 1, 2009.
You can find more online sales and deals on ShoppersShop.com's handy Cyber Monday deals chart.
Shoppers Sticking to Bargains, Expecting More Discounts Ahead
Now that Black Friday is over, there's still Cyber Monday coming with more sales and discounts online. But what happens after Cyber Monday? Will retailers put prices back up? Or will they be forced to discount further if they want shoppers to buy? NBC's Ron Allen has a prediction for what happens next in this game of chicken between bargain-hunting shoppers and discount-averse retailers:
Black Friday Coming to an End, Cyber Monday Is Up Next
Science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg talks about Cyber Monday, which CBS says is the biggest online shopping day of the year. Cyber Monday is always the first Monday following Thanksgiving and Black Friday. It is a day when retailers provide deals to motivate people to shop online. Many people shop from work on Cyber Monday using their office's high speed connections.
This year many retailers started deals on Black Friday which will run for four days through Cyber Monday. Some retailers also have Cyber Monday only deals. You can see a list of some of the Cyber Monday deals here on a chart on our sister site, shoppersshop.com. More deals will be added over the weekend. We will also be covering Cyber Monday on our Twitter account, @blackfriday.
Daniel Sieberg says you might want to start shopping earlier in the day than later because quantities may be limited. Take a look:
Black Friday Deal: 20% Off Giorgio Armani Beauty, Free Shipping
Beauty addicts will love some of the great shopping deals this weekend. This is an amazing offer for Giorgio Armani Beauty fans: through 11/30 you can get 20% off your cosmetics and skincare order and free shipping with code FAMILY at the Armani Beauty website.
There are a great many online deals today as Black Friday has become a four day event that stretches into Cyber Monday. Below are some highlights of some of the online sales and deals.
The Apple Store's discounts include about 8.5% off iMac and MacBook pro, over 10% off the iPod Touch and free shipping. They also have discounts on accessories.
Barney's is running a sale with discounts of up to 40% off.
Saks.com is offering a $25 gift card when you spend $100 on beauty or fragrance. Saks is also offering $100 of $400 orders of women's contemporary apparel.
Sephora.com is offering 20% off Bare Escentuals Foundation Kits now through December 1st.
ShoeMall.com is offering 25% off orders $25 or more plus Free Shipping. Use code: BLACKFRI
ShopBop is offering $50 off $300, $100 off $500, $150 off $700, $225 off $1000 with Code GIFT4U until 11-30-09.
Staples online deals include an HP G60-506US Laptop for $299.98 and an eMachines 21.5" LCD Monitor for $89.98.
Steve Madden is running a sale with 50% off on select styles.
Target's Daily Deals include a Digital Disney Flix Video Camcorder for $29.99 + free shipping.
Tiger Direct is running its Pink Friday sale. They are pink because they support Susan G. Komen For the Cure each year.
Ulta is offering $3.50 off any $10 purchase. Use code 2403. They are also offering doobuster today and tomorrow.
Victoria's Secret is offering a free runway bag with any $60 purchase today.
Walgreen's is offering $10 off $50. It's deals include select Snuggies for $8.
Worldmarket.com has 15% off online until 11-27-09. Enter 2DAYTWIT at checkout.
You can find many more Black Friday sales and deals here on ShoppersShop.com's Black Friday/Cyber Monday Online Deals Chart. You can also follow the deals as we tweet them at twitter.com/blackfriday.
Black Friday went pretty smoothly today and retailers are cautiously optimistic about the sales numbers. The good news is no one was trampled to death at Wal-Mart. But there were some glitches. Kohls.com was so swamped with customers trying to get to its website that it totally crashed at midnight last night. As of 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, the site is still down. The website says that its "elves" are working to get the site back online. Although adorable, the elves don't look terribly tech-savvy. Perhaps they should call a supervisor for assistance.
Analysts toldUSA Today that the store has lost millions in revenue from the tech disaster. It was a total Black Friday Fail.
Update: After nearly 16 hours offline, Kohls.com appears to be working again. Perhaps the store will extend its sale because of the snafu.
Piperlime Offers 20% Off Rachel Zoe's Picks on Black Friday
Gap Inc's Piperlime store is offering 20% off on Rachel Zoe's picks today. Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe has been sharing her picks on the latest fashions as part of an ongoing deal with Piperlime. Enter the code RZPICKS at checkout to get the discount. The sale runs today only and applies only on items in the "Rachel Zoe's Picks" category.
MyFoxPhilly.com is reporting that two Michigan shoppers got married in a Best Buy Black Friday line early this morning. Edward Burbo and Jennifer Dykstra were married hours before the Best Buy opened. The couple met at a Black Friday campout six years ago. Take a look:
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