Advertisement
New Zealand markets closed

  • NZX 50

    11,796.21
    -39.83 (-0.34%)
     

  • NZD/USD

    0.5891
    -0.0014 (-0.24%)
     

  • NZD/EUR

    0.5531
    -0.0014 (-0.25%)
     

  • ALL ORDS

    7,817.40
    -81.50 (-1.03%)
     

  • ASX 200

    7,567.30
    -74.80 (-0.98%)
     

  • OIL

    83.03
    +0.30 (+0.36%)
     

  • GOLD

    2,396.80
    -1.20 (-0.05%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    17,394.31
    -99.31 (-0.57%)
     

  • FTSE

    7,830.50
    -46.55 (-0.59%)
     

  • Dow Jones

    37,775.38
    +22.07 (+0.06%)
     

  • DAX

    17,682.70
    -154.70 (-0.87%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    16,224.14
    -161.73 (-0.99%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    37,068.35
    -1,011.35 (-2.66%)
     

  • NZD/JPY

    90.9380
    -0.3160 (-0.35%)
     

Will E-Commerce Drive Retail Sales This Black Friday?

Ritujay Ghosh
Updated
Online retailers are definitely giving stiff competition to brick-and-mortar giants. However, physical stores too are leaving no stone unturned to boost sales through the Black Friday weekend.

Per a research report from BlackFriday.com, an increasing number of consumers prefer shopping online on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Moreover, more people prefer shopping on Black Friday than on Cyber Monday. Understandably, online shopping is fast becoming the preferred option for shoppers, with Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN leading in the race.

That said, other brick-and-mortar giants too aren’t far behind. An increasing number of retailers are coming up with pop up stores and adding more space to their stores before the holiday season. In fact, per the National Retail Federation (NRF) retail sales are expected to reach almost $721 billion. Black Friday undoubtedly is a big day for retailers and with online shopping making things easier, sales is likely to get a boost on this day.

Online Preferred Choice

Per a recent research report from BlackFriday.com, 68% of the people shopping on Black Friday will do most of it online. E-commerce has been driving holiday sales for the last few years with an increasing number of consumers preferring to shop online. With the holiday season approaching, online sales are once again expected dominate the retail space.

ADVERTISEMENT

That said, according to the survey, Black Friday is likely to generate more sales than Cyber Monday. According to another survey by Deloitte, online sales are likely to grow 22%, with e-commerce sales expected between $128 billion and $134 billion during the holiday season.

Undoubtedly, Black Friday is an important day for retailers and Amazon, according to the survey, is once again leading the race. Per the survey, 29% of shoppers feel they will get the best deals on Amazon on Black Friday, while 32% say they will get the best deal on Cyber Monday. Walmart, Inc. WMT ranks second with 25% and Target Corporation TGT comes third with 15% of shoppers saying that they will get the best deals on Black Friday. Target has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Walmart and Amazon each carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Interestingly, per a research by deal aggregator RetailMeNot, 60% of people plan to shop with online retailers only. It goes without saying that Amazon has changed the entire retail ballgame in the last few years. Other online retailers like Best Buy Co Inc BBY and eBay Inc. EBAY too are expected to come up with attractive deal this year. Last year, the eBay website expected a 20.7 million visitor over the Black Friday weekend.

Others Join the Race

Online retailers are definitely giving stiff competition to brick-and-mortar giants. However, brick-and-mortar stores too are leaving no stone unturned to boost sales through the Black Friday weekend. From adding space to coming up with pop up stores, brick and mortar giants are doing all possible things to make the most of the event.

Walmart and Target like every year will be coming up with a wide array of deals before Black Friday. Walmart is likely to issue its Black Friday ad a couple of weeks ahead of Thanksgiving. Macy’s Inc (M) will be one of the few retails that will remain open on Thanksgiving to kick off Black Friday sales.

E-commerce sales definitely have been climbing over the last few years but the appeal of physical stores is far from fading. E-commerce sales have shown steady growth since the Census Bureau began tracking in 1999. However, the latest figures from early this year show that online still contributes to only 10% of the overall retail sales. It thus needs to be seen, how brick-and-mortar stores compete with their online rivals this Black Friday.  

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
eBay Inc. (EBAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Walmart Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Target Corporation (TGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research