Black Friday Fatigue Drags Down Chain-Store Sales

It looks like shoppers had a case of Black Friday fatigue last week.

National chain-store sales fell 2.6% in the first week of December from Thanksgiving week, according to the latest report from Redbook Research. Sales were projected to slip 2.3%.

But the Johnson Redbook Index also indicated that seasonally adjusted sales for the week ending Dec. 3 rose 3.2% when compared with the same period last year, although it missed the research firm’s expectations of a 3.6% climb.

“Retailers described the week as a lull that began the weekend after a hectic (for some) post-Thanksgiving surge,” Redbook said.

The firm added that retailers should see greater sales in the coming weeks, as customers are accustomed to shopping closer to the holidays in search of better deals. A longer shopping season also bodes well for retailers. This year, there is an extra shopping day before Christmas, and Hanukkah falls later.