Mobile and local searches rise on Black Friday
According to Google, so-called supershoppers once again used mobile as a “door-to-the-store” for Black Friday 2016, which had the highest mobile shopping searches of any day during Thanksgiving week this year.
Google said mobile and local searches were up on Black Friday.
Google also said Thanksgiving Day followed closely behind with searches peaking at 8:00 p.m.
Comparable data for the same period in 2015 was not available.
U.S. shoppers used mobile to find the best deals online, as well as the best deals in-store, Google said.
Rhode Island and Delaware in particular had the most local shopping searches – or searches that contained “near me,” hours and stores – which is perhaps not surprising given New England’s reported enthusiasm for Black Friday overall.
Google said store foot traffic jumped 65% on Black Friday 2016 compared to an average weekend day in November and – not surprisingly – clothing, toy and electronic stores were among the popular destinations.
Clothing and toy stores in particular saw more than double the foot traffic on Black Friday versus an average weekend day in November, Google added.
Electronics stores were also popular with more than double the foot traffic on Thanksgiving Day and more than triple the foot traffic on Black Friday compared to an average weekend day in November, which Google said makes sense given electronics -- including the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sony PS4 Pro -- are topping shoppers’ gift lists this year, per its analysis of search data.
Shoppers also spent more time in stores for Black Friday this year. For example, in electronics stores, consumers typically spent between 35 and 90 minutes on Black Friday compared to 25 minutes on an average day in November. Shopping malls showed a similar increase in visit duration compared to the average day in November, Google added.
Google measured foot traffic and time spent in store by looking at aggregated, anonymized data based on a sample of U.S. users who have location history turned on.