Athletic apparel appears to have taken the gold in Black Friday weekend sales, while consumers tired of shopping by Sunday.
The main takeaways at the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season are according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Camilo Lyon:
— Promotions were deep and broad across the mall, particularly among apparel retailers.
— Traffic trends ebbed as the weekend wore on, likely due to a combination of both increased online shopping and the Thanksgiving Day start of many sales.
— Stronger brands likely fared well without the need to promote as heavily as others.
“Athletic likely fared better relative to traditional apparel, Lyon said.
“Not surprisingly, we believe athletic retailers like Lululemon, Footlocker, Finish Line and Dicks Sporting Goods and the brands Under Amour and Nike seemed healthier as promotions were shallower and/or narrower.”
General apparel saw deeper discounts at many outlets according to Lyon.
“In fact, it seemed as if the Black Friday ante was 40 percent off the entire store, the entire day for many apparel retailers while athletic companies kept promos consistent with last year.”