Yet, people are expected to spend $632 billion this season whereas $607 billion was spent last year. The majority of this growth is actually coming from online sales which has never happened before. Who is mainly shopping online? People ages 18-34 account for 40% and 35% of the same age group shop both online and in the stores. The baby boomers do there shopping by physically waiting in line and spending at the stores. What goods are expected the be purchased? Mainly electronics, televisions, and headphones are expected to be purchased from big names such as Walmart and Target. Using the internet to purchase goods is a better alternative rather than waiting in line and setting up a tent outside thus hoping to get the best deal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/business/economy/a-less-frenzied-black-friday-as-millennials-opt-to-stay-in.html?ref=business
Online shopping is the way to go. It's easier, less time consuming, and convenient.
ReplyDeleteits interesting how technology has created a more economical and efficient way of shopping to reduce the hassle that would regularly occur on black friday, while still boosting sales.
ReplyDeleteAccording a research, 57 percent of men said that electronics was the number one spending driver for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, followed by video games (48 percent). Clothes came in at 44 percent.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how people have spent $27 billion on Black Friday, accounting for 4.3% of total spending this season. Electronics and other high priced items at stores would be targeted during Black Friday since it is more affordable, and deals on electronics are great too. Overall, shopping online is more convenient, and you could choose from a larger variety of products that may not be available at stores.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found to be very interesting about this article is how discounted or "off price stores", like TJ Maxx or Dollar General, are not at all benefiting from this introduction of online shopping.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny to see the millenial generating accounts for a lot of the online shopping during black Friday, because we are the generation that is known to be lazy with no work ethic, which is not true, but it's funny to see that in this article. We are also a generation that is growing up around technology and have a lot of knowledge about it, which is a reason why our generation accounts for most online sales during this time.
ReplyDeleteI usually am the person to camp out in front of stores waiting for Black Friday sales, but this year I didn't because my local Best Buy closed down. I've been doing this for a few years and the best thing I've noticed is that physical shopping beats online shopping in terms of deals. You get door buster deals and in-store only deals that are much better than online promotions that I found on Black Friday AND Cyber Monday. Another trend I've noticed is that the big discounts are usually applied to electronics which is why I spend all night waiting at Best Buy because I've done the same for other stores, but the savings aren't as great.
ReplyDeleteIt would be really fascinating if a study could be done to calculate how much money changes hands outside of transactions in store. For example, being at the front of the line has its benefits. You get you item tickets first that might run out. I've sold a ticket to get a huge sale on a TV for $50 before. I've also sold my spot in line for $50. My friends and I can't be the only ones that do this across the country. So this could make that $632 billion number much bigger. It's also surprising that online sales are only $27 billion. It's not even comparable to total sales.
In other countries the new presidency would change the spending on such a day especially if it happened right around the same period. It is interesting to see that Americans on average spent more money than last year. I sopouse that the results of the elections where seen as a boost for the economy for most Americans
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