Online shopping records could be shattered by this Cyber Monday, with spending expected to hit $10.8 billion.
The National Retail Federation predicts that despite a tough economic environment, holiday sales will grow by between 3.6% and 5.2% compared to last year, to more than $755 billion. The question is whether all stores will benefit from that level of activity — or just those with a big internet presence.
Traffic did plunge at stores on Black Friday because of the pandemic.
Traditional brick-and-mortar stores saw a 52% drop in Black Friday visitors compared to last year, according to a report from Sensormatic Solutions.
Shopping traffic on Thanksgiving Day dropped by 95% as many stores closed to give their employees time off and to avoid crowds.
Online shopping fared better — solidifying the growing importance of internet sales to struggling retailers.
Customers spent $9 billion on Black Friday, per Adobe Analytics, up nearly 22% from last year. That’s the second biggest day for online spending ever.
Even when customers visited stores, it was often to pick up items they had purchased online. In-store and curbside pickup increased 52% this year, Adobe said.
“What we’re seeing this year is $1 out of every $4 this season is being spent online. And that’s a marked increase from last year when it was about $1 out of every $5,” Adobe’s senior digital insights manager Vivek Pandya told CNN Business. “That’s additional billions of dollars that are being migrated online. And that’s being done in a very short period of time because of the pandemic.”
