PROVIDENCE – Despite concerns about hesitant shoppers, thousands flocked to shopping malls Nov. 25 in what many are calling the busiest Black Friday in years, setting new records and giving retailers hope for the rest of the holiday season.
Early data points to an off the charts Black Friday, which shattered previous sales records. Overall retail sales for Friday rose 12% compared to the same period last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, with in-store sales increasing by 12% and online sales by 14%.
Adobe Analytics estimated that a record $9.1 billion was spent on Black Friday online sales, up from the $8.9 billion from last year.
And the profitable weekend carried through Cyber Monday, too. According to Adobe Analytics, consumers purchased $11.3 billion online, 5.8% more than consumers spent on the same day last year.
While in-stores sales are harder to track, large shopping malls in Rhode Island reported heavy traffic throughout the holiday weekend. Domenic Schiavone, general manager at the Warwick Mall, said Nov. 25 was the busiest Black Friday the mall has seen in years.
“The traffic was strong and it stayed strong throughout the day,” Schiavone said. “It was at least double, if not more, than in previous years.”
Since its early opening at 5 a.m., thousands of shoppers visited the Warwick Mall and the almost 6,000-space parking lot remained full throughout the day, said Schiavone.
Garden City Center in Cranston saw similar record-breaking numbers.
“It’s just been so bustling,” said Faith Lockhart, marketing manager at Garden City Center. “Full parking lots pretty much all the time, and tenants have been ecstatic with their sales over the weekend.”
It was surely a busy day for the Santa Claus at Garden City, who Lockhart said received visits from over 100 families looking to take pictures and share their Christmas list.
At Providence Place Mall, large crowds led to long lines at the most popular stores, including H&M and Zara. And while crowded, some shoppers lamented seeing worse deals than in previous years.
“I didn’t buy nearly as much as I usually do,” said Lydia Mello, a shopper at Providence Place Mall. “I didn’t find as much stuff.”
Mello was shopping with her niece, Nichole Pinto, who said she took advantage of many of the early online sales this year.
“I feel like I can get better deals online,” Pinto said. “I finished all my online shopping a week ago.”
But it wasn’t a complete waste of time for Pinto: she ended with new sneakers, jeans, jacket, Lego sets, spending almost $600. And the longest line for Pinto? Johnny Rockets, where she waited over an hour for a hamburger.
For many, the successful retail day was not a surprise. The National Retail Federation had hinted at record-breaking numbers earlier this month, with a survey that found 166.3 million people were planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. This was the highest estimate since the National Retail Federation started tracking this data in 2017.
Still, there was some hesitancy from retailers, who feared the inflationary prices could drive away shoppers.
While Black Friday brought crowds and business at large retailers and shopping malls, some smaller businesses saw a quieter Friday. Karen Beebe, owner of the fashion boutique Queen of Hearts in downtown Providence, said Friday was “terrible,” with the store registering about half the sales as last year.
“It used to be a specific day when businesses highlight a sale and now businesses are having three-week-long Black Friday sales,” Beebe said. “It just makes me reevaluate Black Fridays going forward… It was slower than a normal Friday. It felt like we were just overstaffed.”
While Black Friday did not bring much business, Beebe said Small Business Saturday was a roaring success and the store’s busiest day on record. Throughout Saturday, the store recorded 167 transactions, compared to last year’s 135.
Small Business Saturday brought unprecedented sales for many independent businesses in Rhode Island. At Small Business Saturday Shop RI, a pop-up marketplace featuring local retailers at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick, participation and sales broke many records. With 157 vendors and over 4,000 shoppers, Susan Babin says the event was a huge success.
“We try to market this to the public: come and support the diversity within our state,” said Babin, chair of Small Business Saturday Shop RI and project coordinator of the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council. “It’s not just small businesses, but it’s the people we connect with that really make us unique and different here in Rhode Island.”
Throughout the day, several businesses made over $3,000, with the highest-earning vendor cashing in over $8,000 dollars, Babin said.
Sales were great both on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday for Symposium Books Inc. too. Scott McCullough, owner of the popular bookstore in downtown Providence, said the store was even busier than in 2021.
“The store, pretty much from opening until closing, was full,” McCullough said. “There was never a second where there weren’t people in all the aisles and around the store.”
McCullough noticed more Rhode Islanders are choosing to shop locally and support independent businesses, moving away from bigger chains. This is making him hopeful that the trend will continue into the remaining holiday season, bringing more traffic to local stores.
“It’s been fun seeing the numbers increase and more people moving away from malls, chain stores and online,” McCullough said. “Each year it keeps getting better. [Customers] really enjoy just being around town and shopping locally, especially independent.”
With these promising numbers setting the tone for the rest of the season, retailers are hopeful these record-shattering sales will continue throughout the end of the year.
“I think this weekend is aways a great indicator of how we can expect our stores to perform throughout the season,” Lockhart said. “And if it keeps up like this, we’ll have a very successful holiday season here. And I think that could even have the potential to carry into next year as well.”
Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.
