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Black Friday Lightens Up as Retailers Post Impressive Y-O-Y Gains
Black Friday foot traffic at U.S. malls, while off compared to prior years, displayed impressive year-over-year gains, according to data firm Placer.ai. Traffic was up 83.5% at indoor malls and 44% at outdoor malls from Black Friday 2020 and by 258.4% and 321.9%, respectively, from November daily averages. Compared to two years ago, though, traffic was off 8.5% for indoor malls and 9.2% for outdoor centers.
Some sectors and individual retailers did better than the average, with Walmart traffic up 2.8% from two years ago and Target down just 3.1%. “Off-price and beauty retailers also saw significant gains, further reinforcing the unique positioning these sectors are enjoying,” said Ethan Chernofsky, VP of marketing at Placer.ai.
He added that “calling out the demise of Black Friday is clearly premature. While the day did not hit its standard heights, it still marked a huge increase on the rest of the month with visits up over 200% for many department store leaders compared to the daily average visits in November.
“This could also provide a strong indication of what the holiday retail season could look like moving forward: significant traffic on days like Black Friday, but limitations on those heights created by an approach that aims for a more extended season,” Chernofsky continued.
- ◦Economy
