Black Friday turned into a sales bust as retailers who jumped the gun by opening on Thanksgiving ended up stealing away sales and long lines, making Thursday the new No. 1 sales day, according to one of Wall Street’s top analysts.
Consumer and retail expert Marshal Cohen reported late Friday, “As Thanksgiving Day sales start to steal the business directly from Black Friday, it appears that Thanksgiving Day has become the new Black Friday, and retailers have no one to blame but themselves.”
7 vs 70 number of people in line to check out at a Macy’s. 7 this year. 70 last year at 7 am. pic.twitter.com/J71pWz2iVB
— Marshal Cohen (@marshalcohen) November 25, 2016
There were many reports of bad traffic and long lines at malls around the country, but Cohen, of NPD group, said the sales numbers look down, at least for Friday.
Cohen, who has charted Black Friday sales for 40 years, went out himself to view the sales craziness. His report, provided to Secrets:
7am Black Friday. What’s missing? The calmest Black Friday in 40 years. pic.twitter.com/fTPZwlb700
— Marshal Cohen (@marshalcohen) November 25, 2016
“Thursday night’s lines were long, and the bags and carts were full, but by midnight that flurry turned to calm. The stores that opened on Thursday were not very busy on Black Friday, and the stores that opted not to open on Thursday may regret it. While the Thanksgiving Day opt-outs were busier on Black Friday, they didn’t see the crowds they saw in previous years. The fact is there are more options for holiday shoppers today than in the past. The holiday shopping season and deals begin well-before Thanksgiving, stores offer longer hours, and the perpetual ecommerce options are spreading out the holiday shopping and spending opportunities for consumers – putting a spin on the idea of spreading holiday cheer.”
He even tweeted pictures of empty stores, adding in one, “7am Black Friday. What’s missing? The calmest Black Friday in 40 years.”
But don’t feel bad for retailers. When combined, Thursday and Friday sales still look good, he said.
From Cohen:
“In the 40 years I’ve studied Black Friday, I’ve never seen the crowds this soft on Friday morning; parking wasn’t an issue, and lines were shorter than any weekend in October. I’ve visited the same register at the same store at 7:00 a.m. for the past 15 years. Last year, I found 70 people waiting to check out at that register. This year, there were only seven people in that line. That says it all.
“Overall, Thanksgiving week will likely chalk up a good start to the 2016 holiday shopping season, but this year it also marked a change to the cadence of holiday, with the shopping activity taking on a new, more spread-out rhythm.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
