More consumers hit the bricks (and mortar) on Black Friday, analysis shows

HIGH POINT — The expected brick-and-mortar holiday comeback became a reality as traffic at retail stores and shopping centers rose on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

According to data from Sensormatic Solutions, shopper visits increased by 2.9% on Black Friday compared with the 2021, while visits to physical stores on Thanksgiving Day increased by 19.7%.

The information, based on retail traffic data analytics, also found traffic was higher (up 4.7% year-over-year) among non-mall outlets such as lifestyle centers, strip centers and standalone stores than at enclosed malls (up 1.2%).

“As we expected, Black Friday deals and the in-store experience attracted shoppers, resulting in a solid turnout this year,” said Brian Field, global leader of retail consulting and analytics for Sensormatic. “The pandemic-driven trend of shopping unenclosed shopping centers has endured and malls are seeing a resurgence as well. Our data shows consumers continue to enjoy the benefits of brick-and-mortar shopping.”

The findings for Thanksgiving and Black Friday track with a Sensormatic Solutions consumer sentiment survey that found 51% of consumers intend to do at least some shopping at brick-and-mortar stores this season.

Meanwhile, Adobe Analytics’ holiday shopping report showed online sales for Black Friday were also strong, clocking in at $9.12 billion. Adobe forecasts that consumers will spend $210 billion online this holiday season, which would be a modest 2.5% increase over last year.

And a site traffic study from Bluecore found an 11% increase in Black Friday site traffic, along with a 5% increase in orders, with first-time orders averaging $128. Bluecore analyzed 729 million shopping events on various brands’ e-commerce sites.

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I’m Joanne Friedrick, research editor for the Home Furnishings Division. I began my career as a newspaper editor and then became a trade journalist, covering myriad industries including pension funds, supermarkets, gourmet food and security systems, just to name a few. Most recently, I entered the home furnishings category as a contributor for HFN and Home Textiles Today before transitioning into research where I now get to tell the stories behind the numbers for all of the HFD titles.