Black Friday a Bust?

Black Friday a Bust?

Was the chaos of the holiday season’s start enough to rock the busiest spending day of the American calendar off its heels? Surprisingly, no. While month-long supply chain delays, staffing issues, and pandemic hysteria stifled numbers of in-person shoppers, the 2021 holiday shopping season kick-started with an unexpected and impressive increase of 48% from 2020. 

In the country’s largest mall, the Mall of America in Minnesota, over 100,000 shoppers braved sale-hungry crowds on the Friday after Thanksgiving, a number doubling the attendance during 2020’s Black Friday. Across the country, retail sales expanded by over 29.8% by the middle of the day, superseding estimated growth by over 20%. Shoppers have not only opened their car doors, but also their wallets, with Americans projected to have spent 5% to 17% more on clothing, toys, and appliances during the holiday weekend. While I wasn’t brave enough to tip toe into the local mall, I can testify to emptying CVS shelves at an impressive, nostalgic rate last Friday. 

The weekend was a clear win for retailers, however, shoppers still showed signs of residual pandemic reluctancy. While in-person shoppers increased by nearly 50% from 2020, according to research done by Sensormatic Solutions, numbers still were measured around 30% lower than in pre-pandemic times. Even with a mask on, walking into the Burlington Mall was a daunting task. The escalators were nearly jammed with people, and the parking lot was a nightmare to traverse. For many, opening the glass door was a step too far. Falling attendance, in comparison with pre-pandemic numbers, may also be attributed to the fact that for the first time in a while, many retail stores remained closed on Thanksgiving, reversing a tradition of keeping doors open during the holiday. 

Also impacting numbers was the complication of stunted supply chains. While early on in the pandemic, hoarding and factory shutdowns emptied shelves, and our second holiday season during the global pandemic has been marred by demand imbalances and understaffed warehouses. Supply issues have directly impacted several large retailers including Victoria’s Secret, which has reported that supply issues have delayed the delivery of over 45% of merchandise. Concerns due to unusually high numbers of out-of-stock items and delayed delivery times have resulted in Americans starting holiday shopping as early as October this year, reducing need during the holiday weekend. Understaffing has also translated into unusually limited shopping hours. With a culture of online shopping growing at an accelerating rate during the pandemic, perhaps Cyber Monday was the real shopping holiday of the year. 

BY LAASYA CHIDURUPPA