Because of huge discounts, mild weather in many parts of the country and seemingly more publicity than ever, Black Friday was a success by several measures: crowds stormed into stores before dawn, highlighted items ran out quickly, sales were high. But some observers emphasized that the discounts obviously were the main draw and wondered if customers would be drawn to products selling for less ridiculous prices.
Sales rose 6% to $8.96 billion on Friday compared to Black Friday a year ago, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. The service tracks sales at more than 45,000 mall stores.
In general retail, department stores continued to post strong gains, while discounters had difficulties, an abrupt reversal of fortune. For years, department stores have been sales laggards. Wal-Mart said November same-store sales so far, including Black Friday, were down 0.1%. Malls that opened at midnight did even better than malls that opened at the more "traditional" 6 a.m. on Friday. Sales of electronics buzzed especially strongly followed by furniture and home furnishings.
For all the crowding, the National Retail Federation estimated that 140 million people shopped at stores or online over the long weekend, down about 5 million from last year. But those 5 million fewer people apparently spent more this year, nearly 20% more, according to BIGresearch, as quoted by the Washington Post.
Today, Cyber Monday, is the next big milestone in the holiday season. The dynamic of shoppers returning to work but continuing shopping on their employers' computers may be overhyped: last year Cyber Monday was only the ninth busiest day of online shopping. Still, many online retailers, including B&N.com, are offering specials today.
As for Black Friday, a few bookstores quoted around the country had mixed news. At the
Frugal Frigate, Redlands, Calif., "people have been bustling in and out
for that classic literature we carry," staff member Rita Rogers told
the Redlands Daily Facts.
At a Barnes & Noble in Columbia, S.C., sales were solid on Friday
but slow on Saturday, likely because of the Carolina-Clemson football
game, assistant manager Julie Ellis told the State.
On Friday, a B&N in the Denver Pavilions mall in Denver, Colo., "had
a steady stream of customers at midday, but wasn't jam-packed,"
according to the Denver Business Journal. Staff members told the paper business was "good."
Amusingly, Eric Garneau, co-owner of Stand-Up Comics in Calumet City,
Ind., tried to explain why relatively few people were taking advantage
of the store's 25% sale from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday. "I have a
feeling that's because of the nature of our customers," he told the Northwest Indiana Times. "They are not morning people."
[Editors' note: Shelf Awareness will have regular coverage of
bookstore sales throughout the season. Any booksellers interested in
sharing information and stories about hot books, surprise sellers,
disappointments, hot sidelines and more, should contact us.]