Shoppers in the D.C. region were surprised at how calm retail outlets were on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is the traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season and normally one of the biggest retail sales days of the year.
“Compared to other Black Fridays, this was a breeze,” said Donna Thomas of Silver Spring. Thomas and her 12-year-old son had stopped by a Wal-Mart in Hyattsville Friday morning for a new 42-inch TV. “It seems like everybody already did their shopping last night.”
Thomas may be right. With retailers opening stores on Thanksgiving Day — Kmart opened at 6 a.m. on Thursday — Black Friday may be losing its appeal as the day to score the best deals.
Analysts said several factors could be contributing to the relatively light foot traffic: “What we’re noticing is this, and it’s not a surprise: One, the cyber-sales are ramping up much sooner than cyber-Monday. The second factor is many of the chain stores were open, depending on state law, on Thanksgiving,” said Chris Christopher, director of consumer insights at IHS Global Insights.
This holiday season, the battle for consumers’ dollars has shifted to the Web — specifically mobile devices. According to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, overall online sales on Thanksgiving are up 19.7 percent in 2013 over the same period last year.
Mobile traffic, which includes cellphones and tablets, accounted for 42.6 percent of all online traffic, up more than 32 percent compared to the same period last year. Mobile sales remained strong, reaching 25.8 percent of all online sales, up 49 percent year-over-year, according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark.
Washington was among the top five metropolitan areas for online shopping, behind New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Angelica Talan was among the shoppers feeding that trend. For the first time in about a decade, Talan did not brave the November cold for the holiday sales.
She stayed in bed Thursday, hunting for discounts using the more than 50 new shopping apps she had download onto her iPad. By noon, she had hit pay dirt, snagging a gift for her sister at a deep discount.
“I decided not to fight the crowds this year,” said Talan, who runs the blog Clarendon Moms.
But there were no crowds to struggle through at the Pentagon City mall in Arlington. At 8:30 am on Friday, the Microsoft store had a handful of people milling about, trying out the new Xbox console. A floor above, the Apple store, which opened at 6 a.m., was filled with holiday shoppers. But for the number of people browsing, there were more than enough store associates, each dressed in red and handing out gift guides at the door.
Maya Jones, 36, and her husband Ryan were taking a break from shopping on a bench in the mall. The accountants from Arlington had just finished buying clothes from The Children’s Place for their four kids, as well as nieces and nephews.
Jones said she was a regular Black Friday shopper, and they were planning to visit the Old Navy and Target stores in Falls Church next. Jones said she didn’t mind stores opening on Thanksgiving, because it reduced the crowds on Black Friday.
“Compared to other Black Fridays, this was a breeze,” said Donna Thomas of Silver Spring. Thomas and her 12-year-old son had stopped by a Wal-Mart in Hyattsville Friday morning for a new 42-inch TV. “It seems like everybody already did their shopping last night.”
Thomas may be right. With retailers opening stores on Thanksgiving Day — Kmart opened at 6 a.m. on Thursday — Black Friday may be losing its appeal as the day to score the best deals.
Analysts said several factors could be contributing to the relatively light foot traffic: “What we’re noticing is this, and it’s not a surprise: One, the cyber-sales are ramping up much sooner than cyber-Monday. The second factor is many of the chain stores were open, depending on state law, on Thanksgiving,” said Chris Christopher, director of consumer insights at IHS Global Insights.
This holiday season, the battle for consumers’ dollars has shifted to the Web — specifically mobile devices. According to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, overall online sales on Thanksgiving are up 19.7 percent in 2013 over the same period last year.
Mobile traffic, which includes cellphones and tablets, accounted for 42.6 percent of all online traffic, up more than 32 percent compared to the same period last year. Mobile sales remained strong, reaching 25.8 percent of all online sales, up 49 percent year-over-year, according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark.
Washington was among the top five metropolitan areas for online shopping, behind New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Angelica Talan was among the shoppers feeding that trend. For the first time in about a decade, Talan did not brave the November cold for the holiday sales.
She stayed in bed Thursday, hunting for discounts using the more than 50 new shopping apps she had download onto her iPad. By noon, she had hit pay dirt, snagging a gift for her sister at a deep discount.
“I decided not to fight the crowds this year,” said Talan, who runs the blog Clarendon Moms.
But there were no crowds to struggle through at the Pentagon City mall in Arlington. At 8:30 am on Friday, the Microsoft store had a handful of people milling about, trying out the new Xbox console. A floor above, the Apple store, which opened at 6 a.m., was filled with holiday shoppers. But for the number of people browsing, there were more than enough store associates, each dressed in red and handing out gift guides at the door.
Maya Jones, 36, and her husband Ryan were taking a break from shopping on a bench in the mall. The accountants from Arlington had just finished buying clothes from The Children’s Place for their four kids, as well as nieces and nephews.
Jones said she was a regular Black Friday shopper, and they were planning to visit the Old Navy and Target stores in Falls Church next. Jones said she didn’t mind stores opening on Thanksgiving, because it reduced the crowds on Black Friday.