Omnichannel Wins on Black Friday

Today’s shoppers expect “a seamless digital and physical experience,” says Tom McGee at ICSC.

NEW YORK CITY—With omnichannel retailers seeing the biggest boost, the Thanksgiving/Black Friday kickoff to the holiday shopping season found consumers in a spending frame of mind, the International Council of Shopping Centers said Monday. ICSC’s survey found that three quarters of Americans spent the same or more this year over the holiday weekend than they did last year, with 44% of that spend going to gifts for other people.

“While the holiday shopping season has lengthened and includes all of November and December, the Black Friday and Thanksgiving results are important, and this year serve as a positive indicator for the holiday season,” says Tom McGee, ICSC’s president and CEO. Survey results also indicated how retailers are scoring their biggest successes, namely via stores with both a brick-and-mortar and online presence and with convenient access to non-shopping activities.