Retail spending is booming and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is becoming another popular shopping day.
First Data has released its analysis of consumer spending for Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Unlike other reports, First Data’s analysis is based on actual consumer transactions rather than surveys or speculation.
First Data powers nearly half of all credit and debit card transactions in the U.S. – approximately 79 billion transactions per year, or 2,500 transactions per second, from millions of merchants. The First Data SpendTrend analysis of Thanksgiving and Black Friday uses in-store and e-Commerce data from more than 900,000 merchant locations.
Here are some of the highlights from First Data’s report:
Retail Spending is Alive and Well
- Overall growth was up 9% year-over-year (YOY), which represents solid growth on top of strong growth from the prior year (9.4% in 2015 and 3.5% in 2014).
E-commerce Popularity Continues
- The total share of eCommerce spending has gone up significantly YOY . It was 13.6% YOY (2013), 15.7% YOY (2014), 18.3% (2015), and 24.7% YOY (2016), meaning it has nearly doubled over a four-year period.
Electronics & Appliances Dominated
- Electronics & appliances had a big couple of days with 27% growth YOY and was up $41 in average ticket size from 2015.
Retailers Shutter Doors for Thanksgiving Day
- Several malls and retail chains were closed on Thanksgiving morning and afternoon, most opening their doors until evening. Retail sales growth took a hit, but across the nation consumers jumped in at 6 p.m. and sales recovered.
The Shopping Period Lengthens
- In terms of overall spend (not just retail) the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is becoming just as strong as Black Friday.
For More, visit:
https://www.firstdata.com/en_us/all-features/spendtrend-black-friday-2016.html