M+E Daily

By Chris Tribbey

In years past Best Buy would greet its Black Friday crowds with a midnight Thanksgiving night opening, but for 2013 the retailer opened its doors six hours earlier than usual.

That was good news for the likes of Ryan Trujillo, who bought a dozen Blu-ray Disc on sale at this Best Buy store.

“I was with my family, taking my girlfriend home, and I knew there was going to be a good sale,” the 28-year-old Nuevo, Calif. resident said. “Yeah, they’re all for me. But I’ve still got a month to do Christmas shopping.”

Ken Jones, 38, walked out with a 65-inch Samsung LED HDTV for less than $1,100 … and he didn’t wait in line, unlike a dozen or so Best Buy shoppers who had camped overnight here.

“We’re not that diehard,” the Temecula, Calif. resident said. “We saw people waiting for hours. We waited until they were open and got the same deal.”

Trujillo and Jones were among more than 141 million-plus shoppers who made a purchase during the Black Friday weekend, up from 139 million during the Black Friday weekend of 2012, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Thanksgiving Day traffic grew 27% with 45 million shoppers out on the holiday.

Total spending for the four-day weekend was estimated to reach $57.4 billion.

“By all appearances and according to CEOs I’ve spoken with across the retail spectrum, it looks like the early opening of stores on Thanksgiving and the traditional start of holiday shopping on Black Friday is breaking new records, including what companies are seeing through their digital channels,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “The key take away at this point is that the real winners are in fact the consumers, who are recognizing more savings through competitive pricing and great promotions being offered in every category.

Four in 10 surveyed by NRF said they shopped online during the weekend. Electronics and DVDs and Blu-rays were among the top four purchases consumers said they made during the weekend, NRF reported.

Shopping analytics firm ShopperTrak pegged Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales alone at $12.3 billion, up 2.8% from the same two days in 2012, with more than 1.07 billion brick and mortar store visits by consumers. However, earlier Thanksgiving hours may have cut into sales for Black Friday itself, with store traffic down 1.8% year over year.

“The Black Friday shopping experience is changing with more shoppers choosing to go out on Thanksgiving Day,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin. “Consumers increasingly research products online before entering stores.”

Major retailers presented a rosy picture of their Black Friday results, with Walmart, Target and GameStop all reporting major traffic and impressive sales. Walmart (No. 1), Best Buy (No. 4) and Target (No. 6) had the most visitors on Thanksgiving, according to data from consumer trend analysis firm Placed, with Kmart coming in at a surprising No. 2.

“Our Black Friday events were bigger, better, faster, cheaper and safer than ever,” said Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. “More customers chose us, we had the prices and products they were looking for, and we’re not finished yet.”

The retailer processed more than 10 million register transactions in its stores, and its Web site saw 400 million page views on Thanksgiving Day alone.

The PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, HDTVs, laptops and the iPad mini were big sellers for Walmart, which reported it moved approximately 2 million HDTVs and 1.4 million tablets.

Target said it set a record for Black Friday traffic to its Web site, and that Thanksgiving Day sales were among the highest the retailer had seen in a single day.

“Our guests told us they want top gifts at a great value, and our team delivered,” said Gregg Steinhafel, Target’s chairman, president and CEO. “Whether online, on their mobile devices, or in our stores, guests shopped Target in unprecedented numbers. And, as always, our team provided the exceptional experience our guests have come to expect from Target.”

The iPad Air, HDTV and the Nintendo 3DS XL were among the electronics that sold out quickly during the retailer’s opening salvo of sales.

GameStop reported that many of its stores ran out of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as the company discounted many games to less than $25.

Online tracking firm comScore reported that Black Friday online spending was nearly $1.2 billion, up 15% year over year, with Thanksgiving Day sales up 21%. The firm reported $20.6 billion has been spent online Nov.1-Nov. 29, a 3% increase in year-to-date dollars compared to 2012.