This year's Black Friday could be a record-breaker for the number of shoppers in the US, but American spending is projected to decrease. The reason is fewer advantageous discounts and a general increase in the price of goods. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
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The National Retail Federation expects 186.9 million shoppers to visit stores over five days – from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday – exceeding last year's figure of 183.4 million. But despite the record number of visitors, year-end sales growth may slow down.
Shoppers are increasingly feeling the pinch of rising prices.
Everything seems much more expensive in shopping malls
Last year, she spent about $500 on gifts, but this year she plans to cut her budget to $300, opting out of mass discounts in favor of targeted purchases.
This year's Thanksgiving falls on November 27 – giving retailers an extra day in a season that typically brings in a third of annual profits. Major chains started promotions early: Walmart launched a sale on November 14 in three phases until December 1, Amazon opened a week of discounts on Thursday, and Macy's created a separate portal for Black Friday.
According to NRF forecasts, sales in November-December – both in physical stores and online – could exceed $1 trillion for the first time, growing by 3.7–4.2%. But these rates will be lower than last year's 4.8%, indicating a noticeable cooling of consumer activity despite record store traffic.