Despite fears after two previous lackluster seasons, initial holiday shopping reports are positive and consumers were back to spending again in 2010. One indicator of consumers’ intent to buy was increased traffic to the Retail 500 throughout the holiday season. Thanksgiving weekend offered a strong start, especially as Black Friday sales continued to grow in popularity. For the 2nd consecutive year, Black Friday was the highest day for retail traffic during the holiday season, followed by Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. The highest year-over-year increases in visits took place on Cyber Monday and Black Friday with growth of 16% and 13%, respectively.


The Apparel & Accessories category experienced the highest increases in traffic on each of the key holiday milestones, when compared to the same days last year, followed by Department Stores and House & Garden. Visits were down for the Appliances & Electronics category from last year as some shoppers may have shifted purchases to retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.com, within the Department Stores category.