Nov 28 2011
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the State of the American Economy
Just two days after Black Friday, the most advertised shopping day of the year, retailers are again courting shoppers today with promises of big discounts — online. It’s Cyber Monday dubbed for the jump in website sales that became a tradition in recent years. Last year Cyber Monday shoppers spent a record $1 billion. This past weekend Black Friday sales broke a record totaling $52.4 billion. According to the National Retail Federation, 226 million shoppers made purchases on Friday, up from 212 million bargain hunters last year. A whopping 37% of total spending was done online. Nearly 40% of shoppers spent their holiday money on electronics and over 48% of shoppers went to department stores. Some observers call the increase in spending this year compared to last a sign of economic recovery. An estimated 25% of shoppers lined up at stores on Thanksgiving before doors opened on midnight Friday and shopping madness included the chaos that has become a disturbing standard. USA Today reports that around the country at least two dozen people were reported injured on Black Friday. Walmart continues to be a target for mayhem. In Los Angeles a Walmart shopper sprayed dozens of shoppers including children with pepper spray in an effort to snag an Xbox video game player, a fight broke out among shoppers waiting in line at a Connecticut branch and in Walnut, California a Walmart shopper was arrested for stealing. However, no deaths were reported this year, an improvement over previous years. A Walmart employee was trampled to death by stampeding shoppers in 2008.
GUEST: Nicole Woo, Director of Domestic Policy for the Center for Economic and Policy Research
Visit www.cepr.net for more information.
Comments Off on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the State of the American Economy