If the weekend surrounding Black Friday is really the important economic indicator it’s made out to be, there may be trouble coming. Total spending over the weekend dropped 11 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Retail Federation. Fewer people shopped than did last year; the decline encompassed both physical stores and websites; and those who did make purchases during the long weekend spent less money.
The shopping festivities aren’t over, of course, and Cyber Monday carries the expectation of generating more online sales than any day over the holiday weekend. Accordingly, other consumer trackers have reached a more optimistic conclusion about e-commerce: ComScore said online shopping on Thanksgiving grew 32 percent compared with 2013 levels, while Black Friday brought a 26 percent jump. No matter what happens in the final counting, though, there’s reason to question the mystical importance of this weekend.
