RetailNext, the leading in-store traffic analytics provider used by 450+ of the world’s most loved retail brands, today released its annual Black Friday Weekend traffic and sales data report. The reported year-over-year figures for both foot traffic and sales surpassed projections, indicating consumers embraced in-store shopping despite prevalent challenges like escalating inflation and constrained discretionary spending.

Key Takeaways:

• Foot traffic in the U.S. rose 1.5% YoY throughout Black Friday to Sunday (“Black Friday Weekend”) this year compared to 2022, surpassing recent initial expectations that traffic would be flat to last year to negative 2%. 
• Health and beauty retailers experienced a remarkable 11.5% increase in Black Friday Weekend foot traffic, followed by jewelry with a 5.1% rise, and apparel with a 1.7% increase over the same days.
• Conversely, there was a notable 7.5% decline in consumer interest for home goods during Black Friday Weekend.
• On Black Friday, the higher Average Transaction Value (ATV), Units per Transaction (UPT), and Average Unit Retail (AUR) suggest that customers who found the products they wanted thought the discounts were good enough to buy more items or more expensive ones. This differs from prior to Black Friday when some shoppers were unsure if the sales were worth it.
• The slightly reduced (-0.4%) Conversion Rate (CVR) on Black Friday could indicate a decreased sense of urgency among shoppers to make immediate purchases, meaning individuals unable to find desired items at the ideal price are either willing to wait for a better deal or consider forgoing the purchase altogether.
• Alternatively, a reduced CVR of 0.2% from Friday to Monday could be attributed to more customers opting for Buy Online, Pick Up At Curb (BOPAC) / Buy Online, Pickup In–Store (BOPIS). This method has increased in popularity over recent years as retailers’ physical stores now serve as distribution centers for online pickups. 

"Traffic over Black Friday Weekend 2023 was up compared to last year, as more shoppers visited brick-and-mortars during the high volume sales period,” said Joe Shasteen, global manager of advanced analytics at RetailNext. "This unexpected increase, also beating our expectations of a flat to negative 2% change from 2022, confirms initial insights that people were hunting for great deals this season. It's clear that the heavy discounts across a wide range of products pulled shoppers in as they explored the best bargains available and stocked up for the holiday season. However, unless retailers maintain their discounted offerings, the remainder of the holiday season might experience a slowdown."

"In addition to a bump in traffic, sales over Black Friday Weekend 2023 emerged as a standout exception during a year marked by predominantly lower sales metrics compared to 2022," continued Shasteen. “At first glance, one might be compelled to associate the nearly 1% increase in net sales between Friday and Monday to the attractive discounts and promotions that characterized much of October shopping behavior as well. But a closer look at the slight drop of 0.2% in conversion rate gives a much clearer picture of other contributing factors—Black Friday’s allure as a social event remains for many holidaymakers looking to enjoy holiday experiences, the impact of social commerce continues to grow while BOPIS/BOPAC are continuing to grow in popularity amongst retailers.” 

This data builds on recent numbers from NRF which found that a record 200 million consumers shopped over the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday of which 121 million visited physical retail locations to browse items and make in-store purchases.

Terminology Defined: 

• Average Transaction Value (ATV): the average amount a customer spends on a single purchase
• Conversion Rate (CR): the percentage of visitors who made purchases compared to the number of total visitors
• Shopper Yield (SY): a metric that measures a retailer’s revenue per shopper, calculated by multiplying conversion by ATV
• Units Per Transaction (UPT): the average number of items that customers are purchasing in any given transaction
• Average Unit Retail (AUR): the average selling price of an item

Methodology

Derived from data collected at tens of thousands of U.S. stores across hundreds of brands operating on the RetailNext smart store platform, the data reflects in-store trends across a wide variety of retail segments, from major big-box brands to standalone and specialty retail operations. Metrics exclude automobiles, petroleum, and warehouse clubs, and include stores across the US that were open in both 2022 and 2023.