Earlier hours and slashed prices translated into big sales for retailers across the country over the Thanksgiving weekend with holiday shoppers spending nearly 19 percent more than they did last year, according to figures from the National Retail Federation’s annual Black Friday Weekend Survey.
The more than 140 million consumers that hit the stores between Friday and Sunday spent an average of $360.15 over the weekend, up from last year’s $302.81.
Much of that increase can be attributed to the fact that many stores opened earlier than ever, said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation. More than 36 percent of shoppers arrived at their first store by 6 a.m., according to the survey.
Locally, many stores opened their doors at 6 a.m. The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City opened even earlier at 5 a.m.
“There were actually people waiting in the mall to get in the stores,” said Joel Gilley, an assistant manager at the Brookstone in The Fashion Centre.
Like many stores, Brookstone, which stocks high-end electronics, offered cut-rate deals on merchandise to lure shoppers.
The gimmicks worked, said Mullin, with electronics and computer accessories topping the list of gifts over the weekend. Nearly 40 percent of men bought electronics or computer accessories. While more women than men went shopping, men outspent women, averaging $420.37 versus women’s $304.30.
“Retailers learned this weekend that men are willing to get out of bed for a good deal,” said Phil Rist, vice president of strategy for BIGresearch, the firm that conducted the survey on behalf of the Retail Federation. “While women seemed to take a more casual approach to Black Friday shopping, men went out on the hunt and then went back home to bed.”
But while Black Friday brought in revenue for retailers, it’s only the beginning of the shopping season. Local retailers said they expect crowds to steadily increase as it gets closer to Christmas.
“Black Friday is a very busy shopping day just because it’s a traditional shopping day,” said Jill Schlapkohl, director of marketing for The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. “But as Christmas gets closer it will definitely get even busier.”
