Online sales are up and store traffic is down according to some reports. The Street says it’s the end 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

2017: the year #BlackFriday died (in stores made from bricks, that is)

— Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) November 24, 2017

Black Friday Empty 

The effect of shopping on the iPhone X #BlackFriday #Empty pic.twitter.com/2VsDae3e8G

— Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) November 24, 2017

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.

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