Online Shopping Tops Stores on Black Friday Weekend

Nov. 29th

Holiday shopping isn’t what it used to be. A National Retail Federation survey on Sunday found that more people shopped online than in stores during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend.

This year, crowds at malls were much smaller and stores were calmer over the Black Friday weekend. But online shopping on the other hand, especially on mobile phones, surged as more retailers offered the same promotions online, often before items became available in stores and shoppers were able to easily grab a deal while lounging at home.

Small retailers that rely mostly on selling from physical stores face fundamental changes with how holiday shopping will play out in the coming weeks and future years, say retail executives and consultants. Larger retailers, such as Walmart are also being force to adjust. This year, Walmart put more in-store deals online than ever before.“It is clear that the age-old holiday tradition of heading out to stores with family and friends is now equally matched in the new tradition of looking online for holiday savings opportunities,” said NRF President Matthew Shay. 

"This holiday may be a wakeup call for store-based retailers to recognize that they are going to have to transform their store models to compete with online retailers," said Steve Barr. 

I chose this article because I just went to the mall on Black Friday with my mom and it was not crowded badly at all. I have never been much of a Black Friday shopper, but I had expected it to be busier than it was. 

In the external environment, this relates to technology. Stores are being forced to keep up with technology in order to keep up with sales.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/online-shopping-tops-stores-on-black-friday-weekend-1448832594