Despite the short holiday season, December was still the biggest shopping month of the year.
ShopperTrak reports that shoppers visited more stores in December 2013 than they did in any other month of the year. Despite retailers' best efforts to promote Black Friday sales heavily in November and open even earlier on Thanksgiving Day, they saw shopper traffic increase 35% in December 2013 compared to November 2013.
The week of Christmas, even with the low traffic Christmas Day wedged in the middle, featured four of the top 10 shopping days of the month: Dec. 22, Dec. 23, Dec. 26, and Dec. 28. Christmas week also produced the most shopper traffic of any week in 2013.
Weather and holiday timing push December shopper traffic down compared to 2012
Although up from November 2013, December 2013 shopper traffic did not keep pace with traffic from December 2012 and was down 17.7 percent.
Winter also had a greater impact on shopper traffic in December 2013 than a year ago, with more snow and cold than the December 2012 shopping season, leading more consumers to stay home and shop online for holiday purchases versus last year.
"December continues to be the strongest month for retailers, with the weeks leading up to Christmas including many of the busiest retail days of the year," says Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. "As anticipated, the shortened holiday season and timing of Hanukkah shopping led to a dip in shopper traffic versus last year. And, while weather and consumer preferences drove more people to buy online, brick-and-mortar sales remain retail's largest profit opportunity. Retailers who deliver a seamless, high-quality customer experience across all channels will continue to capture more share of wallet.
