M+E Daily
More Black Friday Shoppers Pick Up Entertainment Media Products
Story Highlights
Nearly half of Black Friday shoppers (42.1%) purchased books, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, or videogames during the post-Thanksgiving weekend, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIG Research. The percentage is up from 40.3% in 2009, and 39.0% in 2008.
The holiday weekend saw an increase in the total number of shoppers: 212.5 million, up 8.7% from 2009. Average spend per shopper (for all purchases) rose 6.4% from last year, to $343.31.
The increased spend in entertainment media coincided with more shoppers purchasing other discretionary items such as jewelry and toys.
“While Black Friday weekend is not always an indicator of holiday season performance, retailers should be encouraged that a focus on value and discretionary gifts has shoppers in the spirit to spend,” says NRF chief executive Matthew Shay.
Individual media and entertainment companies enjoyed early holiday season success. Nintendo estimates that retailers sold 900,000 combined units of the Nintendo DS family of portable gaming systems and 600,000 Wii consoles between Sunday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 27 (via Business Wire). Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray analysts visiting brick-and-mortar Apple stores on Friday reported brisk iPad sales (via Business Insider), while Apple offered one-day discounts on other products online.
