Ol’ Black Friday magic!

In-person rebound, but Web’s abuzz, too

Shoppers returned to stores on Black Friday, with a strong increase in brick-and-mortar foot traffic and record online shopping showing that consumers have altered their approach in the busiest spending season.

In-person visits to stores edged up 2.9% on Black Friday compared to last year despite decades-high inflation, according to retail analytics provider Sensormatic Solutions.

Visits to physical stores on Thanksgiving Day, moreover, leaped 19.7% from 2021, as more retailers opened their doors on Thursday than last year.

Far fewer stores are open on Thanksgiving than on Black Friday, so the surge is a bit misleading, Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting for Sensormatic, told The Post.

“If I look at the past few seasons, when Thanksgiving Day stores were open, the mix of traffic on those days is so small compared to even a regular Thursday,” Field said.

Field added that the uptick in in-store shoppers on Black Friday is a better indicator to predict how the rest of the holiday season will go. “We’re expecting good things today and for the rest of the weekend,” he said. “Plus, 2.9% is a great start to the holiday season.”

The National Retail Federation is expecting holiday sales during November and December to grow between 6% and 8%, for a total of between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion. But how much of the increase will reflect inflation rather than more gifting is unclear at this point. Inflation cooled slightly in October but still registered 7.7%, pressuring cash-strapped households.

From retail to e-tail

Holiday retail sales have increased an average 4.9% over the past 10 years, the NRF said, with pandemic spending in recent years accounting for considerable gains. Last year’s holiday sales grew 13.5% over 2020 and totaled $889.3 billion, shattering previous records.

But much of the growth is now coming from consumers who let their fingers do the shopping.

Online Black Friday sales hit a record high, while more people than ever before opted to shop for holiday deals on their smartphones.

Cyber-spending reached $9.12 billion this year, up 2.3% from last year and topping the previous record of $9 billion in 2020, with the major drivers for this increase being electronics, toys and exercise equipment, according to Adobe Analytics.

It wasn’t just the amount spent online that set records this year, but also the ways in which shoppers made their purchases.

Nearly half of online sales were made via a smartphone, 48%, marking an all-time mobile high, up from 44% last year.

The data also show how shoppers are coping with inflationdriven prices, with a 78% increase in “Buy Now, Pay Later” purchases compared to last week.

“As Black Friday hit record spending online, we’re also seeing more prominent signs of a budget-conscious consumer this year,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said.

“Shoppers are embracing the Buy Now, Pay Later payment method more this year to be able to buy desired gifts for family and friends.”