Inside Outdoor Fall 2017

A s with most things in retail, disruption and change are taking place within holiday shopping behavior. Yes, even the holidays are going digital, which means old assumptions about where and when gifts are purchased may be less relevant, and traditional marketing tactics may be less effec- tive with today’s smart and empow- ered consumers. Of course, it’s not always easy to spot the larger trends when one is in the midst of all the trimmings and trap- pings, weekend rushes and stressed- out shoppers cramming the aisles. With than in mind, here are some things for shopkeepers to keep an eye on this December as they take their notes on adjustments to be made for the coming holiday seasons. Black Friday is the new Cyber Monday. For brick and mortar retail- ers, relatively bleak Black Friday traffic may not be the harbinger of bad overall holiday sales that it once suggested. That’s not to say Black Friday is dead. “It’s just not as significant as it used to be as a stand-alone date,” said Steve Barr, U.S. Retail and Consumer Sector Leader at PwC, and it’s certainly losing its designation as the official start of shopping season, particularly in-store. Indeed, Black Friday is increasingly becoming an online event. According to figures from PwC, net sales within brick-and-mortar stores slid 10.4 percent on Black Friday 2016, and re- tailers can expect that decline to continue in 2017. E-commerce Black Friday sales, on the other hand, jumped 21.6 percent year-over-year, Macro trends to watch for merry holidays The new digital debember Inside Outdoor | FALL 2017 40