Port Washington, NY, December 9, 2008 – U.S. consumer technology* brick and mortar sales experienced the first-ever decline during the week of Black Friday. Revenue was down more than 8 percent from November 23 through November 29, 2008 compared to the same time period last year, according to NPD’s weekly tracking service**. This, however, didn’t come unexpectedly. The consumer technology retail landscape underwent some major changes, for example, with Tweeter shutting its doors and Circuit City filing for bankruptcy. Discounting was generally considered to be much lower this year, aside from Black Friday doorbuster deals on TVs. There was also a greater emphasis on e-commerce and less exciting product selection which played into weaker sales.
There were some bright spots for the industry. Notebook PC unit growth increased almost 19 percent and revenue was up 8 percent. LCD TVs above 30” grew 18 percent in units and 9 percent in dollars. There were several other categories which saw unit growth, such as GPS, plasma TVs, and digital picture frames, but saw declines in revenue due to aggressive declines in average selling prices versus last year which did not generate sufficient unit demand.
“While a weakening economy and overall changes to the consumer technology industry had an impact on Black Friday sales, what we saw is most likely not a one-time reaction to circumstances, but rather the beginning of a change in the overall concept of Black Friday,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “This year there were no blowout sales to attract consumers. Instead of being a kick-off to the holiday season, the deals mimicked a typical weekend sale, not what consumers have been used to in prior years. As consumers’ shopping options grow, Black Friday may become less of a barometer for the holiday shopping season and more of a showcase of retailers’ holiday intentions.”
| Consumer Technology Black Friday Year-Over-Year Revenue and Growth | |||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| $1.87 billion | 2.09 billion | $2.21 billion | $2.03 billion |
| 15.4% | 11.8% | 6.1% | -8.4% |
| Source: The NPD Group/Weekly Tracking Service | |||
*Consumer Technology sales include IT, imaging, audio, video, and consumables.
**NPD’s weekly POS information is derived from a subset panel of retailers that also contribute to NPD’s projected monthly POS panel.
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