The United States spends Black Friday with the economy in mind

The United States came out for Black Friday on Friday, the highlight of several days of consumer fever following the traditional Thanksgiving Day, but where inflation and recession fears this year put gravity to the test. .

The first data reveals that there is good sentiment. Since Thursday, after eating roast turkey, Americans have spent $5.290 million on online purchases, a record that exceeds that recorded on that day last year by 2.9%, according to Today Specialized. . Analytics company Adobe Analytics.

Some shoppers flocked to New York’s department stores as early as 5 or 6 a.m. today, but local media reported there weren’t as long lines as in other years, which may indicate the store’s traffic isn’t as strong. But also people deal with wisdom.

It will take some time to get acquainted with the total numbers for “Black Friday”, both those related to spending in physical stores and “online”, but this company is scaring expectations in terms of e-commerce, and its specialty, which is estimated at 9000 million US dollars for today, which is Which means an increase of only 1%.

More buyers, less average spend

More than 166 million Americans are expected to shop, an unprecedented number, between Thursday and Cyber ​​Monday, but they are also expected to spend less than last year, averaging $833 from $998 in 2021, according to National Retail forecasts. Federation (NRF).

And it is that persistent inflation has significantly reduced the purchasing power of buyers in the United States, who last October saw a hint of moderation in the rise in prices, but nevertheless it was 7.7% on an annual basis, which would force many to predict. To adjust the belt and stick to the bargains.

National stores are aware of this, from Macy’s to Target, Nordstrom, or Kohl’s, which reported weak results in October and early November, and generally lowered their business forecasts for the most important fourth quarter of the year.

Retail business owners expect the largest number of buyers on Black Friday, which marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season and is the most popular day, although Cyber ​​Monday dedicated to e-commerce deals is gaining more and more ground, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. in 2020.

Search forward

Due to supply chain issues and rising inventories, retailers have been running promotions for weeks, prompting 60% of consumers to move their search and gift purchases forward into early November, and into October, according to the NRF.

The categories that typically collect the most, because they’re the ones people give in the most, are apparel, gift cards, and games, while the biggest promotions this year are toys, which are down 34% and those for electronics, down 27%, says Adobe.

On the other hand, employers highlight Americans’ preference for gift cards, which are usually for restaurants and stores or services and goods, of which they are expected to receive a higher group than last year, which amounted to $ 28.1 billion.