Forecasts were all gloom and doom for Black Friday, with the media predicting a huge pullback in consumer spending. But yesterday, numbers were released showing that shoppers had actually increased their spending by 2% over the same period last year. Many media outlets are still predicting less shopping in the weeks before the holidays and spending was way down leading up to Black Friday, meaning the boost may not do much to help ailing retailers.
But there was an increase in spending, although you’d hardly know it. After touting their predictions of a shopping slump, media outlets seemed loathe to report that they were wrong about consumers’ spending habits on Black Friday. Instead, the media has been focusing on the predicted slower sales for the next few weeks, which may turn out to be completely accurate, but we’re not in the business of predictions.
It’s clear that people were hungry for deep discounts on Black Friday though, as a man at a Wal-Mart on Long Island was trampled to death by shoppers. The reasons for this stampede are for another post, except to say that maybe this is an indication that the “holiday spirit” has been lost to rampant consumerism and materialism.
My own personal experience did seem to indicate fewer people were out shopping, although I didn’t recover from my turkey hangover until about 1 p.m. on Friday and thus missed the mad rush in the early morning hours. I did see people out spending, but they were mostly buying items that were 30% to 70% off … nearly four weeks before Christmas! I stopped by a Jo-Ann Fabrics in the afternoon on Saturday to discover that holiday decorations were already hugely reduced in price … my total bill came to about $25 after a savings of $27 … incredible.
While it may be too late to rescue hurting retailers, which may lead to more big name stores shutting down, the excellent deals being offered seemed to boost spending, at least for a few days. What was your Black Friday shopping experience? Did you brave the crowds or stay home and shop online or not spend at all?