FX.co ★ U.S. Black Friday sales dip

The U.S. consumers’ spendings during Black Friday and the following days off slumped in the current year. According to the flash estimates of the National Retail Federation (NRF), the Americans spent in total $57.4 billion over the holiday weekend including Thanksgiving Day (November 28). The Financial Times reported that the U.S. shoppers spent $59 billion when the sales season had started a year ago.
At the same time, the number of shoppers this year displayed the opposite tendency. So, if in 2012 this figure equaled 139 million people, then in 2013 it surpassed 141 million. On average, every shopper spent nearly $407 for holiday purchases; that reading was $423 a year earlier.
So, in 2013, the shopping activity on Black Friday turned out to be the busiest when nearly 92 million consumers were tempted to buy at reduced prices (89 million did so last year). Clothes and electronic goods were the best selling items as before. By doing so, a number of midnight shoppers when the most of retailers launch sales, hiked by 28% this year. Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation does not take into account the sales information for Cyber Monday (December 2). The NRF expects that 131 million Americans preferred online shopping. A year ago, this number was 129 million people. Traditionally Black Friday following Thanksgiving Day is considered the start of the Christmas and New Year’s shopping season. Thanks to the keen demand for goods at discounted prices, retailers can offset their losses by rising proceeds. On the whole, more and more people take advantage of a bargain in the net.