This week, I reviewed early shopping results from retail’s biggest weekend of the year, which include record digital sales and year-over-year growth in foot traffic at big box and off-price stores. Additionally, Unilever invests in new manufacturing processes, Nike taps British makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench for a collab, and Sarah Brown is out at Violet Grey.
Early Black Friday shopping results trickle in
As reported by Glossy on Monday, U.S. consumers set a new record on Friday by spending around $10.8 billion online during Black Friday, 55% of which came from mobile phones. Deep discounts of 30-50% led brand strategies, with half off being the magic number to entice shoppers.
The successful sales day will help the retail industry reach the lofty projections made by retail analysts and firms like the National Retail Federation — NRF predicts a record-breaking $990 billion in sales from November 1 to December 31. If achieved, this would equate to an annual holiday sales boost of $25 billion.
These numbers, albeit impressive, only tell a part of the story. With Thanksgiving falling later in the year, many brands kicked off discounts ahead of the holiday weekend. According to market research company Belardi Wong, there was 16% year-over-year sales growth during the third week of November, thanks to early Black Friday deals. Some of that growth can also be attributed to the spike in digital ad spending on Meta, which was up 30% the same week.
Retailers also saw a spike in brick-and-mortar sales this weekend, according to location analytics firm Placer.ai. Indoor malls saw an 8.2% increase in YoY foot traffic on Black Friday, while foot traffic in outlet malls was up 5.2% and in open-air shopping centers grew 6.9%. The numbers also showed sales returning to pre-pandemic rates: Indoor mall visits were up 3.6% compared to Black Friday 2019, while open-air shopping center visits grew 5.9% from 2019.
But it was big box leaders and the thriving off-price category that won foot traffic for the day. According to Placer.ai, foot traffic at HomeGoods grew 17.4%, Target increased 16.8%, Marshalls went up 11.1%, Ulta Beauty grew 5.7%, and Nordstrom added 4% to its traffic, compared to last year. Overall, Apple Stores won the foot traffic race with a 31.1% spike in traffic YoY.
“2024 is the latest indication that, while Black Friday is still critical for many in retail, its role has fundamentally changed,” said Ethan Chernofsky, svp of marketing at Placer.ai. He said Black Friday’s relative importance has declined due to the extended shopping season and a changing shopping journey where in-store marketing and digital shopping work together.
“The role of the store is to provide a place for product discovery, and the chance to touch and feel products, engage with the brand, or identify the ideal size or version of a product. This doesn’t reduce the value of the visit, but it means that, while the visit is still critical, the actual transaction might still be made online.”
Similar thoughts came from the market research company Coresight Research. The future of Black Friday lies in its ability to transform to meet changing consumer behaviors and preferences and retail trends, such as omnichannel integration, according to a report published by the group on Monday. The group also called out the need for brands to offer experiential in-store retail to reach consumers — this trend has been embraced by Laneige, Chanel and Dior this season.
Executive moves:
- Beauty editor-turned-executive Sarah Brown has left her role as chief brand officer of beauty retailer Violet Grey. Brown is the former longtime beauty director of Vogue and joined Violet Grey in 2021. Brown’s next move, and the future of this role at VG, has not been revealed.
News to know:
- Unilever, parent company to brands including Dove, Axe, Degree, Nexxus and Shea Moisture, announced it is revamping its fragrance R&D process through vertical integration. The conglomerate is set to invest more than $100 million in scaling its internal fragrance creation capabilities in an effort to better serve its suite of personal care, home and lifestyle brands.
- As previously reported by Glossy in January, L’Oréal is providing competition to Dyson with its new AirLight Pro infrared hair dryer. On November 24, the brand launched the new tech under the L’Oréal Pro brand at Ulta Beauty for $475.
- Qurate Retail Group, the parent company to live selling juggernauts QVC and HSN, is closing Sune, the Gen-Z-focused livestreaming app it launched in 2023. Live selling has continued to be a focus for beauty brands on apps like TikTok and Instagram.
- On Tuesday, Unilever announced a partnership with Nufarm, a global agriculture innovator, to create more sustainable oils for its manufacturing processes. The group plans to use biotechnology to cultivate crops with significant plant material to create “biomass oil,” which is created from plant materials like leaves and stems that are normally discarded when creating plant and seed oils.
- British makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench — the artist behind Charli XCX’s brat makeup look and 2024 sell-out partnerships with Lashify and FaceGym — has a new collaboration with Nike. Ffrench created two new colorways of Nike’s Air Max DN shoe: chocolate brown and beige. The Isamaya Ffrench x Nike Air Max DN will be available globally at nike.com and select retail partners beginning December 20.
Stat of the week:
According to Spate market research company, the fastest growing wellness supplement categories are creatine gummies and bacopa supplements. Creatine gummies are experiencing an average of 23,000 monthly Google searches, up 314% year-over-year, according to the group. Most are marketed as helping with muscle fatigue and growth, as well as energy levels. Meanwhile, bacopa supplements currently garner around 2,000 monthly searches, up 115% YoY. Some brands claim the supplements improve memory, retention, concentration and focus.
In the headlines:
L’Oréal heiress and Europe’s richest woman has lost more of her wealth than most other billionaires. What it really costs to have a store in New York City. Beauty manufacturer Ancorotti Group takes over Cosmoproject. Bath & Body Works stock jumps 17 percent on back of raised full-year forecast. Nykaa acquires Indian beauty brand Earth Rhythm. Your favorite founder’s favorite fractional CFO on the power of knowing your numbers.
Listen in:
In this special crossover podcast episode, Glossy Beauty Podcast co-hosts Lexy Lebsack and Sara Spruch-Feiner are joined by Modern Retail editor-in-chief Cale Guthrie Weissman to discuss BFCM retail trends.
Need a Glossy recap?
How Solawave is using ‘Schedule A’ litigation to successfully fight Amazon counterfeiters. How concerned should retailers be about shrink? Dove expands to ‘face-grade’ body care. Humor is the new trend in beauty marketing campaigns. The fragrances teen boys are buying for the holidays.
