U.S. Black Friday shoppers cut back on online shopping as some return to stores Reuters

By Arriana McLymore and Richa Naidu

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – U.S. shoppers have spent a little less on the net this year on Black Friday, and many have returned to physical stores despite fears of coronavirus, tight supplies and efforts to encourage shoppers to shop earlier for holiday shopping.

For the first time ever, online spending on Black Friday – traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year – fell, reversing growth in recent years, according to data from Adobe (NASDAQ 🙂 Analytics. in the knowledge of the data and tracks the transactions of 80 of the top 100 vendors in the US.

Retailers were enticed by shoppers to make their holiday shopping online in September this year as a supply chain blockade prevented them from rapidly renewing year-end merchandise. On Black Friday, total online spending by shoppers was about $ 8.9 billion, down from $ 9 billion in 2020, Adobe said. Thanksgiving Day online spending was $ 5.1 billion, Adobe said.

Many retailers closed physical stores on Thanksgiving Day, as they did in 2020, amid a labor shortage and a coronavirus pandemic. The Thanksgiving stores reopened the day after, and buyer visits increased by 47.5% compared to 2020, but fell by 28.3% compared to 2019, the last year before the pandemic, according to data from Sensormatic Solutions.

Supply chain challenges and delivery delays have prompted shoppers to visit stores to increase the chances of getting gifts in time for Christmas. There are more online shopping they can pick up at the store, which reduces shipping costs.

Macy’s, Walmart (NYSE :), Goal (NYSE 🙂 and Kohl’s (NYSE :), for example, gave shoppers the flexibility to shop online, in stores or through hybrid methods, went as winners on Black Friday, said Louis Navellier, president of Navellier & Associates investors.

Among those who shop online, slightly more used their phones. Shopify (NYSE 🙂 Canadian e-commerce company said the number of shoppers on its platform who used phones to make purchases rose to 72% this year from 67% last year.

Movements to encourage shoppers to buy holiday gifts earlier may also reduce the importance of Cyber ​​Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving.