And they're off! Black Friday, the Super Bowl of shopping, kicks off holiday season
Walmart's "Check out with Me," service brings a personal checker throughout the store to get you out of holiday shopping lines.
Jefferson Graham, USA TODAYA
nd they're off.
The
holiday shopping frenzy has officially begun with the five-day stretch
that starts on Thanksgiving and crosses the finish line Cyber Monday.
And in the age of Amazon, retailers are increasingly turning to tech to
make shopping, whether online or in an actual store, as quick and simple
as possible.
This year marks the first time Macy’s
will have mobile checkout at all of its stores. The Gap, Old Navy,
Banana Republic, and Athleta also are equipping employees at most
locations with devices to check out customers on the spot.
And
at Walmart, a digital map within the store app will pinpoint the exact
location where a customer can find the doll or sweater they're looking
for. The map will be color coded for Black Friday to make the search
even simpler.
Such shortcuts are critical. A
survey by consultancy Deloitte found that 27 percent of those polled
would tap into alternate checkout options — like using a smartphone to
scan and pay for purchase as they shop, or buying online, then picking
the gift up at a store — to skip long check out lines.
But the tech roll out seemed to be hit or miss.
At
a Walmart in Dickson City, Pennsylvania, where there were roughly half a
dozen employees ready to do mobile checkout when doors opened
Thanksgiving evening, the only glitch Friday morning was one of the
credit card scanners running out of receipt paper.
But
at the sprawling Walmart super store in Santa Ana, California, there
was only one associate doing mobile checkout Friday morning, He was in
the electronics section, standing behind a standard register instead of
in the aisle, with nine people backed up waiting to pay for their
purchases.
At a Gap in midtown Manhattan, there was
no fun and play near the register In the kids section as the line of
over 50 people waited patiently to get 60 percent off their entire
purchase. The lines were unavoidable because the mobile checkout devices
were “down”, according to sales staff who bobbed their heads to
Christmas music playing over the intercom.
“We
aren’t going to wait [in line] for 2 hours for a hat” Danny Alexander,
34, said to his 6-year old son Junior as they left the store. “C’mon
let’s go home,” he said as he handed Junior a pair of gloves to put on.
And
when it came to the new ways to pay, there appeared to be a learning
curve. The Macy's app wasn't alleviating lines at the retailer's store
in the Viewmont Mall in Dickson City, Pennsylvania, for instance, where
many customers queuing up to make a purchase were unaware of the option.
“I think customers are not using it as much
today as I know they will in the future,'' Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said
Friday in an interview. "So the more we educate the customer about the
full benefits of the Macy’s app, I think the more you're going to see
mobile check out being used.''
Still, mobile is increasingly becoming a key part of the shopping experience.
On
Thanksgiving Day, the traffic flowing through mobile devices
represented 68 percent of all online traffic, according to Salesforce.
And 54 percent of all digital orders that day were made through smart
phones, the most of any day this year and roughly 30 percent more than
in 2017.
"The phone has become the remote control
of our daily lives, and it’s no different on Thanksgiving when consumers
take advantage of the access to visit their favorite brand and retailer
for the best deals,'' says Rob Garf, Salesforce's vice president of
industry strategy and insights.
But that doesn't
mean stores are being left behind, says Garf, noting that 83 percent of
consumers between the ages of 18 and 44 are expected to use a mobile
phone while shopping in a physical store.
"They're
on it to check prices,'' he says. "They're (on) it to research product.
They're (on) it to communicate and get validation from friends and
family for a purchase they might make . . . The phone actually acts as
the thread that weaves together the digital experience and the physical
experience.''
Social media is also playing a
growing role, with nearly 8 percent of traffic on Thanksgiving Day
generated by platforms like Instagram and Facebook — a more than 40
percent uptick over 2017.
That means they're
seeing posts by friends, brands or social media influencers, getting
information through those platforms about the items, and "increasingly
clicking on that product ... to purchase,'' he says. It shows "the
importance of Instagram and Facebook and others to really influence that
shopper.''
Kyra Pullen, 25, who headed to a
Target in Hackensack, New Jersey, to check out the video games, says the
Target app comes in handy.
“It usually gives you
the coupons that are in store,'' said Pullen who lives in Philadelphia.
"so it really helps you to see what the prices are, and if you really
want to buy it now or buy it later.’’
She chose to buy a Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on the spot for herself and her fiancé.
“We just got engaged,’’ she said. “He bought me a ring, so I figured I should at least try to match.’’
While
some store hours varied, shoppers willing to brave the cold could
start grabbing doorbusters before the sun came up Friday.
Bass
Pro Shops, Lord & Taylor and Sears were among the retailers opening
at 5 a.m., while Home Depot, Kmart, Big Lots and Boscov's started
welcoming customers an hour later.
Target and
T.J. Maxx opened at 7 a.m., and J.C. Penney, which opened on
Thanksgiving Day, planned to keep the sales going until 10 p.m. Most
Walmart stores were open for 24 hours straight.
There's
a lot of money on the line. Nearly 20 percent of retail sales last year
occurred during the holiday season, and it’s expected that shoppers
will spend roughly $717 billion to $721 billion this year, an uptick of
4.3 percent to 4.8 percent over 2017, according to the National Retail
Federation.
More Money: What stores are open on Thanksgiving? List of major retailers' hours for Black Friday deals
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Black
Friday has waned in recent years, its power dulled as retailers launch
holiday sales days or weeks earlier, with many stores opening their
doors in the midst of the Thanksgiving Day feast. And since 2014, the
Saturday before Christmas, known as "Super Saturday," has surpassed
Black Friday in sales, a trend that the NRF expects to continue this
year.
As the sun came up on the West Coast Friday, a
line slowly gathered outside a Target in Los Angeles, but it was
notably smaller — and sleepier — than the one gathered outside the night
before.
That evening, at a Target a little over 2
miles down the road in Culver City, shoppers were greeted by a team of
cheering sales associates as they walked in. On Black Friday, there was
one employee and a security guard at the door. No one was cheering.
Still, Gloria Nelson doesn't miss a Black Friday.
“This
is a family tradition,’’ said Nelson, 52, of Tenafly, New Jersey, who
saved $110 on the Beats earbuds she picked up at a Target in Hackensack,
New Jersey. “My sister and I go out every Black Friday to see what we
can find for the kids.’’
Nelson refuses to shop on Thanksgiving “just (on) principle,’’ she says. “I don’t think people should work on Thanksgiving.’’
And
she shows similar restraint when it comes to online browsing during the
holiday as well, though primarily for a different reason. “I’m too busy
cooking for … 21 people,’’ she says.
Pierre
Romero from Costa Mesa, California, went shopping with his brother at
the Best Buy there on Black Friday, waiting outside for four hours to be
early enough to nab the "Doorbuster" specials on Sony and a Sharp TV.
He
came armed with print outs of the Best Buy online ad and went straight
for the TVs once the door opened at 8 a.m. He says the savings on both
TVs topped $600. "That's pretty good," he said. "Way worth it."
Black Friday continues to have a vital role to play, says Macy's Gennette.
"It
is a critical benchmark in the season, be it on online or in store,''
he says. "Black Friday is really an American pilgrimage.''
As
of mid-day, the retailer was seeing strong sales, Gennette said. But he
added that the initial week that includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday
is just one volley in a long season, and success then doesn't guarantee
the same results through the end of the year. "It's a five-week
marathon,'' he says. "It's a long road ahead.''
Of the more than 164 million Americans who intend to shop over
Thanksgiving weekend, 71 percent, or 116 million, have said they intend
to buy and browse on Black Friday, more than any other day, the NRF
says.
Just in time for the holidays, FAO Schwarz is back.
USA TODAY
Most
sales still happen in actual stores, but online spending continues to
grow at a faster clip.Shoppers had already spent $643 million online as
of 10 AM ET Friday, and were expected to make $6.4 billion in purchases
by the end of the day, according to Adobe, coming close to the $6.6
billion spent on Cyber Monday last year. Thanksgiving Day, meanwhile,
saw online sales jump 28 percent to $3.7 billion.
During
the full holiday season, more than $1 out of every $6 that is spent
will be doled out online, amounting to $124.1 billion, according to
Adobe. That's a 14.8 percent jump over the previous year, and
significantly more than the 2.7 percent spending uptick expected
offline.
Digital research firm eMarketer
has similar figures, saying that e-commerce spending will rise 16.6% to
$123.73 billion, making up 12.3% of total holiday retail sales — the
largest chunk ever.
But there are times when online shopping doesn't quite cut it, some shoppers say.
Vicky
Krasic, 49, of Maywood, NJ, who was out shopping on Black Friday,
didn’t bother buying gifts the day before, even online, because she
simply didn’t know what she wanted. At an actual store, she said, “if I
see something that catches my eye, I can grab it.’’
And when it comes to planning and checking off her shopping list, Gloria Nelson doesn't bother with technology.
“I use my old fashioned credit card,'' she says, "and (look) through a circular.’’
Contributing: Eli Blumenthal, Jefferson Graham, Janna Herron, Michelle Maltais
For gift ideas and dates on deals, check out gifts.usatoday.com
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