Black Friday Sales Boosted Online

While many stores opened at midnight on Black Friday in order to offer shoppers the option to start their holiday purchasing early and beat the rush, it seems many shoppers decided to skip the crowds altogether and start their holiday shopping online.

Courtesy of Jay Lopez

While Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, has traditionally been the day set aside for great online deal, this year Black Friday online sales were up by 24.3% over last year, according to an IBM study of 500 retailers.

As part of this, sales on mobile devices increased to 9.8% this year, up 5.6% from 2010. And there was a large increase in shoppers using mobile devices to research in-store and online bargains, as mobile traffic surged to 14.3% from 5.6% the year before.

It should come as no surprise that the majority of this mobile shopping was done on Apple products, with the iPad and iPhone accounting for 10.2% of all online retail traffic on Black Friday. As other studies have shown, iPad shoppers were more likely to complete a purchase than those using other devices.

Online sales combined with in-store sales, grew by 7% as consumers spent $11.4 billion, the largest amount ever spent on Black Friday. But some industries saw a greater surge than others.

“The big winners were those retailers that delivered a smarter commerce experience with compelling, relevant deals that people could easily access from their channel of choice," said John Squire, Chief Strategy Officer of IBM Smarter Commerce.

One of the big winners were department stores, which saw sales rise by 59%, boosted by a number of deals and promotions that attracted shoppers. Other retail sectors that saw strong sales were home goods and health and beauty, with sales increasing by 48.8% and 34.2%, respectively.

Shoppers geared up for Black Friday by taking to social networking sites, which saw an 110% increase in chatter around the subject, and sharing tips on how to beat the rush, waiting times, and out-of-stock concerns.

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At this point, retailers should be developing major mobile strategies for their brands as the medium is not only becoming a staple in consumers daily routine, but in many cases replacing more traditional media. 

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In the case of Starbucks, mobile is even beginning to replace their consumers wallets. The coffee company announced today that one in four transactions is done through Starbucks mobile app that allows customers to pay using their phone.

Many retailers developed applications for Black Friday this year that assisted shoppers in locating items in store, including maps and QR codes. 

But with these devices becoming a larger part of consumers lives and their decision making process, wouldn't it be wise for retailers to focus less on Black Friday and more on a mobile campaign that can last all year, as opposed to one day?