Black Friday is, without a doubt, the largest shopping event of the United States each year. It’s great both for retailers and buyers – the first make the highest sales of the year, the second have some incredible deals to choose from. Unfortunately with great deals comes great turmoil, as some people would literally do everything to get their hands on a discounted item at the store. Others – like this shopper in Saginaw Township in Michigan – wait patiently in line for their turn. The shopper – spotted by Michigan Live – must have very much spare time – the tent in front of Saginaw’s Best Buy has appeared on Monday, November 24th (the Black Friday sale starts on the 28th).
In other news, TechCrunch reports that Black Friday’s effects are already felt by retailers across the US. According to the publication, retailers (both online and land-based) already report the growth of their sales over last year. Companies like Walmart, Target, Amazon, Staples, Sears and Lowe’s, among others, have launched a series of “pre-Black Friday” deals of massively discounted items. As a result their sales have grown by almost 19% compared to the similar period of 2013.
TechCrunch has some very interesting information about the devices used by shoppers to give their orders. According to the data – compiled by the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark – mobile traffic to the retailers has grown by over 24% compared to last year, now accounting for almost half of the online traffic. At the same time mobile sales have also grown considerably, accounting for over a quarter of all online sales, growing by almost 24% compared to last year. The shoppers spending the most were owners of iOS devices – their average order was around $111, compared to $86 spent by Android users. Besides, iOS users are accountable for almost 21% of all sales, while Android shoppers have ordered much less, a bit over 5% of the total online sales.