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According to retail analytics company RetailNext, Black Friday will no longer hold the top spot as the busiest shopping day of the year. As retailers expand sale windows and move promotions online, consumers are spreading out their shopping days, too. In fact, Black Friday is projected to lose steam in both sales numbers and traffic.
“This year, with Christmas falling on a Sunday, most shoppers will want to cut short their shopping early on Saturday, Dec. 24, leaving the day before, Friday, as retail’s biggest opportunity for sales. For store visits, Super Saturday will lead the way, with Black Friday a very close second,” said Shelley E. Kohan, vice president of retail consulting at RetailNext.
RetailNext projected the season’s busiest days throughout November and December. Black Friday is projected to be third in sales, after Friday, Dec. 23 and Saturday, Dec. 17. Super Saturday is projected to take the lead in traffic over Black Friday.
The analytics group previously projected a 3.2 percent year-over-year increase in sales for the entire season. This comes from a projected 14.9 percent year-over-year boost in digital channels.
Lowe’s and Home Depot, have announced they are staying closed on Thanksgiving, bucking recent trends for stores to open earlier and push into Thursday evening. Some stores report that the sales that occur during those extra few hours don’t support the cost of staffing and running the store.
