This year's Black Friday saw record breaking online sales of $7.4 billion, the highest online sales for a Black Friday and the second highest ever after last year's Cyber Monday. This is in keeping with an overall trend towards online sales in the future of retail generally. According to Adobe Analytics, online shopping on Black Friday increased 17% year-over-year despite the technical issues experienced by a few retailers.
Meanwhile, in-store sales dropped by 6% compared to last year. This is the weakest showing of in-store sales since 2014 according to ShopperTrak.
This year's big winners were the stores that followed the trend toward online shopping: Walmart
Toymakers and electronics companies also had a good Black Friday: TVs and Frozen
Lululemon
The list of "losers" of Black Friday includes a lot of stores that have previously done well on the massive shopping day. Wells Fargo
Victoria's Secret also saw thin crowds and lower sales, according to MKM Partners. Victoria's Secret has arguably been on the list of Black Friday winners many times, but its promotions this year weren't enough to tempt shoppers. Pink, on the other hand, had a more successful day. Both brands are owned L Brands
Those who will likely be most hurt by the shift to online shopping are department stores. The increasing availability of price comparison because of the ease of online shopping is hurting stores who normally depend upon this season to get them "into the black" Macy's
The online swing wasn't the only challenge for retailers, however. This year, the number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas is as low as it can be. There are six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. This means that retailers had to start promotions earlier causing a surge in early shopping.
Cyber Monday is expected to blow by Friday's $7.4 billion. Sales are expected to reach $9.4 billion, a 19% rise from last year. The National Retail Federation estimates nearly 69 million Americans will search the web for deals on Monday. Social media platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook