Foot traffic to retail stores in the US fell on Black Friday this year, but this was offset by online sales breaking records.
According to ShopperTrak, visits by shoppers to physical stores were down 1.7% from 2017 on Black Friday, and 1% for both Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day shopping.
However, online sales, hit a new record. Shoppers spent $6.22 billion online, up from 23.6% last year, according to Adobe Analytics. Through Shopify alone, consumers spent $37 million an hour.
The 1.7% drop in visits to physical stores is similar to consumer behavior on Black Friday a year ago. In 2017, that statistic was down 1.6% from the year prior.
But consumers are still interested in physical stores, as many ordered items online for in-store pickup after the holiday, according to the report by Adobe.
And online shopping faced a few hurdles. Many shoppers found major retailers’ websites—from Walmart to J. Crew—were struggling to handle traffic on Friday.
