RetailNext forecasts Black Friday will no longer be biggest shopping day of the holiday season.
The omnichannel and cross-channel shopping behaviors of consumers have been driving change in retail for some time now, and it may even extend to the downfall of Black Friday as the biggest shopping day of the holiday season, according to RetailNext. According to the latest forecasts by the retail analytics experts, for 2016, the biggest shopping day in terms of sales is expected to be Friday, December 23, while the busiest day for store traffic will be Super Saturday, December 17th. Black Friday falls down to third place.
According to RetailNext, calendar quirts and the growth of #OptOutside and other initiatives mean that there is a new biggest day for retail, marking a monumental shift in consumer habits.
The top 10 shopping days by sales are projected to be:
While some of the positions shift when it comes to projecting the number of shopper visits, Black Friday still does not top the list. The top three days in terms of shopper visits are Super Saturday, December 17, Black Friday, November 25, and Friday, December 23. One factor that changes the rankings is the fact that 2016 has two additional shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas than 2015, which means good things for the retail industry.
The backlash against retailers opening stores earlier and earlier for Black Friday deals has also resulted in changes to the holiday shopping strategies. As Innovative Retail Technologies reported, the Mall of America and a number of other mall operators have announced that they will remained shuttered on Thanksgiving Day.
"As retailers have continued the trend to open more stores on Thanksgiving Day, it has pilfered away both sales and traffic from Black Friday," said Shelley E. Kohan, vice president of retail consulting at RetailNext. "This year, with Christmas falling on a Sunday, most shoppers will want to cut short their shopping early on Saturday, December 24, leaving the day before, Friday, as retail's biggest opportunity for sales. For store visits, Super Saturday will lead the way, with Black Friday a very close second."
"While Black Friday, Super Saturday and Cyber-Monday all continue their starring roles alongside December 23 this year," continued Kohan, "those retailers who reimagine and reinvent Thanksgiving weekend shopping as more of a month-long event culminating with the holiday weekend will start the season strong, and those retailers nimble and agile enough to tactically respond in December on lessons learned in November will ultimately win the season."
Essentially, retailers need to start approaching the holiday season as an evolving one, in which Black Friday may not be the single saving grace that it has been in the past. Shoppers want more flexible, convenient options to fulfill their Christmas wish-lists, and retailers need to be willing to provide them.
