Traditional Retailers Report a Black Friday Bust

Online is proving to be a lifeline for retailers. Traffic at stores on Black Friday fell by 52.1% compared with last year, according to preliminary data from Sensormatic Solutions. In contrast, online spending on Black Friday surged 21.6% to hit a new record, according to data from Adobe Analytics.

Overall, for the six key weeks of the holiday season this year, traffic in retail stores is expected to be down 22-25% year-over-year. But observers said the declines may be due, in part, to social distancing and COVID-19 concerns.

“We knew Black Friday [traffic] was going to be down, we just didn’t know how much it was going to be down,” Brian Field, a senior director of global retail consulting at Sensormatic Solutions told CNBC. “Shoppers are spreading out their shopping throughout the holiday season because of concerns about social distancing and the pandemic.”