Nielsen Online reports that traffic from home and work to the Holiday eShopping Index increased 10 percent year over year on Black Friday, growing from 28.8 million unique visitors in 2007 to 31.7 million unique visitors in 2008 across more than 120 representative online retailers.
“Even with the weakening economy, an unstable stock market and a rising unemployment rate, Black Friday traffic to online retail sites grew at a double digit rate this year,” said Ken Cassar, vice president, industry insights, Nielsen Online.
Black Friday Online Conversations and Consumer Perceptions
To gauge …

Black Friday, the Friday following Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. Many retailers use this time to offer “door-buster” deals – ridiculously low prices on key items that entice eager shoppers to line up outside hours before the store opens. Nielsen has prepared a Top 10 list of common mistakes made by retailers who are trying to play and win in the competitive world of Black Friday.
Mistake #1: Sticking to traditional categories
Who says supermarkets can’t sell video games or that electronics stores can’t sell …

By Emily Heitkamp, Nielsen Online
When details of the global financial crisis overtook the headlines in mid-September, consumers and brands began assessing their position in the economy and strategizing for the downturn. Retailers have reacted by announcing plans to offer deep discounts for the holidays, from high-end to mass-merchandise. Some have rolled out deals in advance of Black Friday. With reports of more and better deals from retailers and a bleak economic outlook for consumers, it would be natural to assume that consumers are hungry to take advantage of opportunities to …