Smartphone Sales and the Reported "Death of Black Friday"

More and more people are buying online, and with phones, not desktop applications. The Street.Com says Black Friday 2017 Will Mark the Death of This Unofficial National Holiday.

The Year Black Friday Died

Black Friday Empty

Online Sales Surge

A couple of anecdotes via twitter does not constitute data. However, it's safe to say online is having an impact on in-store sales.

CNBC reports US online sales surge, shoppers throng stores on Thanksgiving evening.

• U.S. shoppers had splurged more than $1.52 billion online by Thanksgiving evening
• A strong labor market, rising home prices and stock markets at record highs have also improved the turnout at stores this year
• The number of customers shopping on their smartphones surged, accounting for 46 percent of the traffic on retail websites
• Traffic from desktop and laptop computers declined 11 percent and nearly 6 percent, respectively

Some report store traffic is up, others down. I take all of these early reports with a large dose of skepticism.

I am concerned about the mounting debt. 24% of millennials still make credit card payments from holiday shopping a year ago.

For details, please see Holiday Shopping: Sticking to a Budget? Even Have One?