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Retailers certainly always hope that the Thanksgiving weekend will bring massive sales. This year, however, it was difficult for them to compete with online shopping and early holiday promotions. Shoppers, on average, were found to spend 6.4% less than they did last year at this time, according to data released by the National Retail Federation.
The NRF estimates that shoppers spend $380.95 at stores over the holiday weekend, compared with $407.02 last year. This was a total spending fall of about 11% over the weekend.
NRF President and Chief Executive Matthew Shay explained that there has been a “revolutionary change” in holiday shopping and that it’s likely to continue. With the growing ease and importance of online sales and the lessening excitement over Black Friday, retailers aren’t getting out to the stores over the holiday weekend as they used to.
The Thanksgiving weekend is also an early gauge of consumer mood and spending for the entire season. This weekend accounts for about 30% of the sales and almost 40$ of the profits for retailers during the holiday season.