A record 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites over the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend this year, a figure almost equal to latest census figures for the total number of American citizens over the age of 14.
The National Retail Federation released the figures on Sunday, which reported that the number of shoppers this year was up nine percent from 226 million in 2011.
According to the 2010 Census, an estimated 308,745,538 people live in the United States. Once you subtract everyone under 14 years of age from the total population, that means there are 247,518,325 people in this country, just over the number who went shopping this past weekend according to the NRF.
This Thanksgiving also saw Americans spending more than ever before. The average holiday spender dished out $423 over the entire weekend, up from $398 last year. Meanwhile, total spending jumped nearly 13 per cent to $59.1 billion across the country.
The NRF stats don’t yet take into account the numbers for Cyber Monday which was also a record-breaker. Sales grew 30 percent on last year according to IBM.
Retailer are excited by these numbers, as they are seen as a successful start to the lucrative holiday season.
There had been initial fears that the weak job market and impending tax hikes would depress spending during one of the busiest seasons for retailers.
Despite the financial doldrums many Americans are apparently in, they were encouraged to spend courtesy of a number of creative new features designed to make holiday shopping more convenient.
Specifically, Americans were spurred to shop thanks to efforts made by retailers to open stores on Thanksgiving evening, update mobile shopping apps for smartphones and tablets and expand shipping and layaway options.
In an uncharacteristic display, shops along Manhattan’s SoHo and Herald Square districts were brightly lit well past midnight, as lines of eager shoppers crowded along the blocks waiting to get in for their early openings.
And for online shopping, lines were avoided altogether. According to comScore, which tracks digital spending, online sale rose a staggering 26 per cent to $1.04 billion on Black Friday, marking the first time such sales have surpassed $1 billion on that day.
On Cyber Monday online sales were up more than 36 percent over Black Friday.
Though there is still no data on how many more shoppers turned out thanks to the late-night openings, it does appear to have helped make Thanksgiving a more popular day for shopping.
While in the past the third Thursday of November was reserved for eating turkey and watching football, this year, it saw more people out shopping than in year’s past.
According to the National Retail Federation survey, the number of people who shopped on Thanksgiving rose 23.1 percent.
All this has come as welcome news retailers across the country, many of whom can make upwards of 40 per cent of their annual revenue in November and December alone. They are hoping that this data will help buoy early, negative projections for the holiday season.
The survey, however, did not bring all good news. It appears that early openings and increased sales on Thanksgiving Day may have dampened sales on Black Friday, which is still expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year. Sales of Black Friday slipped to $11.2 billion, down nearly two per cent from last year and below estimates that they would hit at least $11.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation estimates that overall sales in November and December will rise 4.1 percent this year to $586.1 billion. That's more than a percentage point lower than the growth in each of the past two years, and the smallest increase since 2009, when sales were nearly flat.
Still, retailers are hopeful and believe that last weekend's earnings were just the start of what will be a successful holiday season.
‘Retailers and consumers both won this weekend, especially on Thanksgiving,’ said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.
i wasnt broke either. i just aint standing in line like a fukking moron.
