Black Friday Implications
Visitor Analytics Provider Says Late Season Performance, Retail Strategy Key to Holiday Success
As retailers collectively bite their fingernails while making last minute preparations for the critical Black Friday shopping period, Experian FootFall is reporting retail performance doesn’t always determine holiday season success or failure.
According to FootFall, a market leading provider of visitor analytics, the 2011 calendar shift could impact consumer behavior this season, potentially transferring the large majority of shopping trips and consumer spending to later in the season. Because Christmas falls on a Sunday, historical performance suggests the week leading up to the holiday will be crucial for retailers, containing several of the top spending days this holiday shopping season.
“The 2011 calendar shift will most likely place added emphasis on the days leading into Christmas as procrastinating shoppers could spend heavily on the Thursday and Friday leading into Christmas weekend,” said Gary Whittemore, global development director of Experian FootFall. “Although Black Friday is still very important and will once again be one of the top performing days, in reality many retailers will have the opportunity to recover from a slower start by reviewing historical performance and effectively preparing stores to capitalize on this late season rush.”
Experian FootFall says much like 2005, the last time Christmas fell on a Sunday, retailers will offer deep discounts during the week leading into the holiday to boost both sales and traffic throughout a period when a large percentage of American consumers will be on vacation. Because of this, the company says three of the top performing days of the holiday shopping season could fall in the seven day period from Dec. 17 – 24, including Dec. 17 (Saturday), Dec. 22 (Thursday) and Dec. 23 (Friday). Based on historical comparisons, FootFall also is reporting retailers could see some early morning strength on Christmas Eve as last minute shopping concludes. Additionally, the company says the annually strong day after Christmas (Dec. 26), when many consumers return gifts, redeem gift cards and capitalize on post-holiday sales, could also be important for retailers this year as many shoppers will have the day off to spend.
“Winning retailers this season will utilize historical consumer shopping patterns to assure they have the correct people and processes in place to react to the potential peaks and lulls during the 2011 holiday season,” Mr. Whittemore said. “By truly understanding and implementing this historical data into all facets of the business, retailers have the ability to maximize store performance and provide the tools necessary for a successful holiday shopping season.”