Washington, DC, November 28, 2005--The ceremonial kickoff to the holiday season began with a great deal of fanfare as 145 million shoppers flooded stores and the Internet hunting for popular electronics, clothing, and books.
An NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch found that the average shopper spent $302.81 this weekend, bringing total weekend spending to $27.8 billion, an incredible 21.9 percent increase over last year’s $22.8 billion.
“As expected, retailers offered substantial discounts and savings on Black Friday to bring people into their stores and consumers held up their end of the bargain by going shopping,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Even though many retailers saw strong sales this past weekend, companies will not be basking in their success. Stores are already warming up for the next four weeks because the holiday season is far from over.”
More than 60 million shoppers headed to the stores on Black Friday, an increase of 7.9 percent over last year. Another 52.8 million shopped on Saturday, a rise of 13.3 percent over 2004. The number of shoppers out today is expected to be close to last year, with about 22 million people shopping.
Consumers were shopping for a variety of merchandise this weekend. According to the survey, 49.2 percent of consumers purchased clothing or clothing accessories while 46.7 percent bought books, CDs, DVDs, videos and video games. The electronics category saw the largest year-over-year jump, with 36.7 percent of shoppers buying in that category, up from 31.2 percent a year ago.
“By offering incredible discounts, retailers were able to bring consumers to the stores who otherwise would have stayed in bed,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “The deals were so enticing that many consumers abandoned their shopping lists and started buying for themselves.”
A variety of retailers benefited from seasonably cool weather and heavy discounting this weekend. According to the survey, the majority of shoppers headed to discounters (60.7%), though department stores (47.0%) and specialty stores (41.2%) also saw strong traffic. As expected, online retailers also had a solid weekend, with nearly one in three consumers (27.4%) choosing to do some of their holiday shopping over the Internet.
As of Sunday, November 28, the average person has completed 35.6 percent of their holiday shopping, slightly less than a year ago (36.8%). Only one in 13 consumers (7.5%) has finished their holiday shopping.
NRF continues to project that holiday sales will rise 6.0 percent this year to $439.5 billion.
Those who decided not to battle the crowds or were unable to find everything they were looking for will also have an opportunity to shop tomorrow, on Cyber Monday, the official kickoff for online holiday shopping. According to Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, 58.9 million consumers are expected to shop online tomorrow, from home or at work, in what is expected to be one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.
“Online retailers will be ready for the surge in traffic and will be offering sensational promotions on Cyber Monday,” said Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org. “Though millions of consumers spent the weekend in stores, they will be rounding out their shopping by heading online to look for gift ideas, compare prices, and buy.”
