With Black Friday weekend sales accounting for 15-20% of the total annual sales, the weekend is the most awaited time of the year. Retailers across the US expect this weekend to produce blockbuster sales. Common mass constituting the market opportunities are willing to spend their pockets out during the season.
However, the sales number for 2013 weekend has been upsetting. Although the number of shoppers have increased, the total amount spent by the customers has seen a decline.As visible from the diagram, average spending per person has shot sown from $423 to $402 this year when compared to last year. The major reasons leading to this downfall have been economic stability and a smaller shopping widow. The number of days between the Christmas and Thanksgiving are low this year as compared with 2012. This has created an air of loudly audible hustle bustle with sales and promotions starting way before it should have. The same trend is expected to be observed in the coming subsequent years where the total worth of sales in the weekend might continue to fall.
The maddening crowd that is a customary feature of Black Friday weekend gives customers comparatively lesser time to spend their pockets. The long awaiting queues and the randomness of crowd leaves people spend high proportion of their time in the mere anticipation of what’s in the store.
With the advances of technology such as smartphones and tablets in the hands of people, a lot of customers return empty-handed as the comparison of prices and quality are easily available across the internet. People simply compare the commodities that are available in the stores with those on web and a greater state of confusion leads them to not buying the commodity.
Moreover, the stampede and violence associated with the extravagant weekend has been a cause of worry for some people and they have been pulling out of real shopping and moving into the domains of online shopping. They prefer lying on the couch and just entering the credit card details as to waiting in queues and facing hostile crowds.
The current scenario has been a cause of worry for the retailers as they are passed the biggest weekend with little on hands. All that can be done for the retailers sitting in the mall is keeping the fingers crossed with an optimistic vision that maybe next time around, the sales would be over whelming.
So tell us about your experiences of shopping on Black Friday. Did it meet your expectations? Was it over-priced? Share your experiences with us in the comments section below!
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