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Holiday Sales: Thanksgiving Shopping Here To Stay; Luxury Jewelers Start Strong | December 03, 2014 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—If this year’s sales are any hint of the future, it looks like the last Thursday of November may soon be called Thanksshopping rather than Thanksgiving, with stuffing bags as much a part of the holiday ritual as stuffing the turkey. Total sales for the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend were lower than retailers had hoped, but in the initial going, retail analysts believe that is more indicative of changing shopping patterns than an economic indicator.
Luxury jewelers, however, started the season strong. According to the Centurion Holiday Sales Success Index, 43.3% of respondents reported sales for Black Friday weekend rose 10% or more over last year’s figures. 16.7% reported sales up between 6% and 10%, and 6.7% reported modest increases between 1% and 5%. Many retailers, especially luxury stores, still stayed closed on Thanksgiving, but according to an early report in Women’s Wear Daily, stores that did open on Thanksgiving night were rewarded for their efforts, and the additional Thursday hours didn’t diminish the Friday crowds.
In the WWD report, Simon Property Group—owner of such major malls as King of Prussia, PA, Roosevelt Field in Nassau County, NY, and Lenox Square in Atlanta, GA—said parking lots at most of its properties were full by noon on Friday or shortly thereafter.
While Thanksgiving night shopping is about getting deals, it also is becoming equally about the experience. WWD reports that many places picked up after 10 p.m., much like a popular nightclub, and remained busy well into the wee hours. Things slowed down before dawn but picked up again as the early-morning shoppers were out in force by 8:00 a.m. The 18-34-year-old Millennial crowd, especially, views Black Friday as a social experience, and they were a large part of the weekend crowds, according to the National Retail Federation.
Discounts reigned, especially on electronics, gadgets, and apparel, with shoppers eschewing merchandise not discounted deeply enough. Mass-merchandise jewelry also was heavily discounted.
According to NRF’s survey, conducted November 28 and 29, the most popular purchase among all adults age 18+ was clothing or accessories. More than half (54.5%) bought something in this category. Toys, books, and consumer electronics also led the way with roughly one-third of all adults making a purchase in at least one of these categories.
15% of all adults made a fine jewelry purchase, says the survey. But breaking it out by age, Millennials bought the most: 22.4% of respondents age 18-34 reported buying fine jewelry or precious metal accessories. 13% of adults ages 35-54 bought fine jewelry, and 10.3% of adults over 55 reported buying it over the weekend. NRF did not break out jewelry purchases by price category or type of retailer.
Centurion Survey: "How Was Your Black Friday Weekend Business Compared To Last Year?"
Even though luxury jewelers traditionally don't view Black Friday as a big shopping day, the numbers show it's gaining traction. 43% of respondents to the Centurion Holiday Sales Success Index said sales were up more than 10% over the same weekend last year.
Centurion’s survey reveals that Black Friday, while traditionally not a big day for luxury jewelers, may be gaining some ground. While only 6.7% of respondents said it’s very important to them and 43.3% of respondents said it is not important at all, 50% of respondents deemed it "somewhat important but not central to the season," showing that it's not a holiday to ignore. “Small, but growing,” wrote one respondent. “A big surprise for us,” said another. And, “Friday we were up 18% and Saturday up 64%. Good overall and starting a season with optimism!” said a third.
While the economy is on the upswing, the Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping pattern throws sharp light on America’s growing income divide, according to the Dallas Morning News. High earners don’t bother bolting to the mall as soon as their plates are clean, but for the less well off, still facing stagnant incomes and financial insecurity, the deals matter and stores know it. For this customer, deep discounts are the only way to afford some of the gifts they want to give, or the only way to ensure all the gifts on their list are checked off. Competition to get to this customer first—before the budget is spent—is fierce between retailers.
Still, affluent customers also love a bargain, and luxury retailers aren’t entirely immune to the lure of Black Friday discounts. This Huffington Post article describes Bergdorf Goodman’s famous sale—but far more merchandise at the tony retailer still sells through at full price. And as a spokesperson for Neiman Marcus said in the Dallas News article, “We typically sell things people want, not necessarily what they need. Thanksgiving promotions are about necessities that are marked down. It’s just not a part of what we do.”
Despite the early upticks in foot traffic WWD reported on Thanksgiving and Black Friday morning, the NRF survey found overall foot traffic in stores was down 3.6% from Thursday through Saturday, but online traffic was strong. Indeed, many retailers have both improved online conversions and provided a more seamless online/offline shopping experience for customers than in previous years, said WWD. The NRF believes the figures point more to an evolutionary change in how people shop than an economic indicator.
“A strengthening economy that changes consumers’ reliance on deep discounts, a highly competitive environment, early promotions and the ability to shop 24/7 online all contributed to the shift witnessed this weekend,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “We are excited to be witnessing an evolutionary change in holiday shopping by both consumers and retailers, and expect this trend to continue in the years ahead.”
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