NEXT 1000 are Retailers to Watch

The 2020 Next 1000 Database includes new data on regional sales, international shipping, mobile sales data, vendor information and now 5-years of heavily vetted web sales for every merchant that made the list. Available in two plans, each database includes web sales range, metrics including basic operations, traffic and sales tax data, email marketing and shopper demographics and new international shipping data.

This year’s top three Next 1000 retailers are:

Shinola: a jewelry company which grew online sales 17.9% in 2019
Moment: a customer electronics consumer brand manufacturer growing 20.6% online
U.S. Patriot LLC: an apparel and accessories retail chain which grew online sales 17.8%
This year’s fastest growing Next 1000 retailers are:

Coddle: a housewares and home furnishings manufacturer, 1373.1% growth
Revtown: an apparel/accessories manufacturer, 550.0% growth
Monica + Andy: an apparel/accessories retailer, 158.5% growth

Black Friday Sales Up, Up and Up

The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start on Black Friday, with retail sales up 7 percent over last year, according to the most recent survey. Now, can stores keep buyers coming back without the promise of door-buster savings.  I have to bet we haven't heard the term "doorbuster" for the last time in 2011.

Buyers spent $11.4 billion at retail stores and malls, up nearly $1 billion from last year, according to a Saturday report from ShopperTrak. It was the largest amount ever spent on the day that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007. Chicago-based ShopperTrak gathers data from 25,000 outlets across the U.S., including individual stores and shopping centers.

The reason for the increase in sales.  My theory is the stores were open earlier and longer.  In 2010, stores opened at 4, 5, and 6am.  This Black Friday, stores opened at the stroke of midnight.

Bill Martin, who founded ShopperTrak, said he was surprised by the strong showing. He had expected the weak economy to dent consumer confidence and keep more shoppers out of the stores, or at least from spending much. Instead, he said, they responded to a blanket of promotions, from 60- and 70-percent off deals to door-buster savings on electronics.

More good news, sales were also up 4 percent each in the two weeks leading up to Black Friday, as retailers started their promotions earlier than usual or extended their hours.

My experience at Black Friday around Atlanta was full parking lots and 2-hour waits in some checkout lines.

At Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, N.C., Mary Aker was forced to use valet parking Friday because she couldn't find a parking spot. But on Saturday, the pace had let up a little, so she and her husband came back to do some more shopping.

Over the past six years, Black Friday was the biggest sales day of the year, and it is expected to keep that crown this year, though shoppers seem to be procrastinating more every year and the fate of the holiday season is increasingly coming down to the last few days before Christmas.

Last year, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend accounted for 12.1 percent of overall holiday sales. Black Friday made up about half of that.