This year, fewer shoppers headed to malls to snatch up Black Friday deals (and walk off that extra helping of potatoes) than in years past, but that doesn’t mean their wallets weren’t getting a work out.
According to the National Retail Federation, web shoppers outnumbered in-store shoppers for the first time, with 103 million choosing their laptops and mobile devices over mall mania. But there was some double-dipping. Of the 151 million total people who hunted for deals over Black Friday weekend, 102 million reported shopping at stores — meaning that if you were browsing for savings on your phone while your shopping partner dragged you into Spencer’s, you weren’t alone.
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Many Black Friday deals at retailers like Zara (which gave customers a 30-percent discount), Madewell (which offered a 25-percent discount) and Victoria’s Secret (which had a buy one bra, get one 50-percent off promotion) were available both in stores and online. “Unlike ten years ago, we live in a world in which you can shop anywhere at any time,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay in a press release. “It’s no longer about one day, but a season of digital deals, and savvy online shoppers are ready to see what exclusive promotions retailers have in store for Cyber Monday before they checkout.”
While data for Cyber Monday sales won’t be available until tomorrow, early predictions estimate that 126 million people will be covertly shopping from their cubicles during the day of digital deals. But don’t worry, we won’t tell.
