Expect to hear a lot about "pulled forward demand" in the coming weeks.
The firm ShopperTrak reported yesterday:
ShopperTrak, the world’s largest counter of retail foot traffic, estimates that, when compared to Black Friday last year, retail foot traffic rose 3.5 percent, to more than 307.67 million store visits. Retail sales decreased 1.8 percent, however, with shoppers spending an estimated total of $11.2 billion yesterday.
But then it added:
“Black Friday continues to be an important day in retail,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. “This year, though, more retailers than last year began their ‘doorbuster’ deals on Thursday, Thanksgiving itself. So while foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that’s usually meant for Friday.”
One analyst, who preferred to remain anonymous, who was hanging out at a mall on Black Friday told BI:
...the pulled forward promos (starting weds and midnight openings) does seem to have pulled some traffic from Black Friday. Mall traffic seems thinner.
So this week, when the analysis is done, that will be the explanation.
SEE ALSO: Black Friday photos from around the nation >
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