In my story on Saturday, I wrote that while shoppers still came out and endured crowds for Black Friday, that shoppers seem focused and did not do a lot of impulse spending.

And it seems that that was the pattern throughout the country. According to a survey from the National Retail Federation, while there was a 12.2 percent increase in the number of shoppers during the Black Friday weekend (NRF estimate that 195 million shoppers came out nationwide between Friday through today), the average those shoppers spent actually declined 7.9 percent (from $372.57 a year ago to $343.31).

Some interesting tidbits from NRF that I though correlated with some things I noticed in local stores this past weekend:

• Department stores was the No. 1 choice, at 49.4 percent of shoppers choosing to go there compared to 43 percent in 2008. Discount stores was No. 2 at 43.2 percent, which was  more than 10 percentage points lower than 2008.

During a conference call held by NRF vice president Ellen Davis noted that many consumers didn’t necessarily shop for gifts but rather took advantage of bargains to replace household items.

I did stop by Macy’s Friday morning and noticed that many people had purchase things like panini grills and sheet sets. And as I mentioned earlier, a lot of shoppers at Fred Meyer on Friday morning were looking for socks.

• One surprising thing to the NRF folks was how well apparel did. According to the survey, about 50.9 percent of shoppers bought clothing, the same percentage a year ago. That percentage made it the No. 1 category for the Black Friday weekend.

This is surprising when you consider that apparel stores, with a few exceptions, have not done well in monthly sales.
But the bargains clearly drove shoppers out. One only had to look at the register line at Old Navy that looped around the store. And while there was plenty of reports (including from myself) that people were out to buy a flat-panel televisions, consumer electronics actually ranked fourth with 36.9 percent of shoppers purchasing those items. 

The National Retail Federation wasn’t the only ones with a Black Friday report:

• ShopperTrak, a Chicago firm that tracks shopping traffic, reported that spending on Black Friday itself totaled $10.660 billion, a 0.5 percent increase from the same period a year ago.
Co-founder Bill Martin believed that while the increase was small that retailers should be expecting an increase in November’s monthly sales thanks to Black Friday activity.  And as noted elsewhere, ShopperTrak stated the early morning bargains were the main driver as activity.

• Retail Eye Partners, a retail research firm in New York City, had a different take on Black Friday: “While crowds were robust at store openings very early in the morning, they died down a bit later, following doorbuster deal sellouts, and spending remained reigned in and very targeted at heavily discounted and sale items,” the firm said in a recent news release.
It notes later that retailers who manage to keep up promotions for the next few weeks will likely see success this holiday season.

Check back tomorrow for a  follow up with Yakima Valley retailers.

Reach shopper Mai Hoang at mhoang@yakimaherald.com or by commenting on this entry.
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