More Black Friday deals= more spending

A study by ShopLocal finds that retailers are offering more deals and shoppers are spending more

Retailers are offering more deals and shoppers are spending more money, according to a study conducted by ShopLocal, the retail division of digital marketing services provider, PointRoll.  The data reported by ShopLocal reveals that leading retailers increased their Black Friday offers by 22% from last year, setting an all-time record for the largest number of deals offered on a single day.

And shoppers are snapping up those deals like they’re going out of style.  The study found that visits to retailers’ websites is up 19% from last year and page views have increased by 26%.

“The 2009 holiday shopping season was promotion intensive, and this year is even more so, as retailers have pulled out all of the stops for Black Friday,” said Vikram Sharma, CEO of ShopLocal, in a prepared statement. “Savvy retailers advertised even earlier this year and have taken advantage of new tactics such as mobile alerts and social media to drive consumers to circular deals. However, they saved the best for Black Friday, and consumers are finding a lot to choose from as they plan their visits to local stores. ”

According to ShopLocal, consumer activity on its circular sites peaked at 9 a.m. CST on Wednesday, and then again at 9 p.m. on Thursday, suggesting that shoppers were cementing their shopping strategies in advance. Additionally, ShopLocal saw a record number of page views—15.4 million in a single hour on Thursday night.  The previous record was set at the same time period last year.

ShopLocal provides digital solutions to connect advertisers and consumers, both online and in-store.  Using online display advertising, online circulars, search, social media, and mobile solutions, ShopLocal works with leading retailers like Target and Best Buy to deliver localized promotions to consumers.  ShopLocal is the retail branch of PointRoll, a provider of digital marketing services that helps advertisers, agencies, and publishers create and manage search, mobile, and rich media display ad campaigns.

In October, PointRoll released a study that found that many consumers start demonstrating interest in holiday shopping in late October.  The data revealed that the average time a consumer spends interacting with a holiday ad peaks in early November and ad impressions double in volume between the third week of November and the first week of December. 

Image source: cbc.ca