Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Black Friday's Mid Year Rival?

by 
Ethan Chernofsky
 on 
June 20, 2019
Black Friday's Mid Year Rival?

Each year, the top retailers in the US eagerly prepare for the winter holiday season and the shopping boon it creates. But while Black Friday and a series of sales before and after Christmas dominate the end of year retail calendar, there are other opportunities that top sellers look to capitalize on.

Enter Memorial Day, a three day weekend that many retailers leverage to drive sales before the summer season kicks off.

So who benefitted from Memorial Day in 2019, and how did the long weekend compare to other key shopping periods? We dove into the location analytics of several top retailers to find out.

Comparing Peaks

Looking at foot traffic data from top retailers, it is clear that the peak of Black Friday can hardly be matched by any other day of the year. Analyzing the year of foot traffic for Nike from June 2018 through May 2019 showed a Black Friday peak that was 335.9% higher than the baseline for the period.

However, the incredible Black Friday peak was mitigated by the length of the Memorial Day period. When comparing the top three days around Black Friday to the three highest traffic days of Memorial Day Weekend, the traffic difference is only 14% higher in November. This speaks to the tremendous spring time opportunity the sportswear giant leveraged.

For the GAP, Black Friday weekend outperformed Memorial Day Weekend by just under 18%, while American Eagle’s Black Friday visits were 16% higher than Memorial Day Weekend. Yet, these ‘reductions’ still speak to a significant mid-year retail opportunity that these brands availed themselves of. Incredibly, outside of the holiday peak, no other period provided the same retail opportunity as Memorial Day Weekend for these apparel giants.

Missing Out on Memorial Day

But as interesting as the brands who leveraged the long weekend to drive in-store visits were those that invested little. Best Buy, one of the brands that truly dominates Black Friday and the winter holiday season saw only minor increases on Memorial Day Weekend that barely register compared to the company’s massive winter successes.

Target, another brand known for capitalizing on Black Friday and the pre-Christmas build up also saw a Memorial Day weekend pass with little fanfare. The Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend did bring in 25.4% more visits than the baseline for the 12 months between June 2018 and May 2019, but the Sunday and Monday that followed brought increases of only 5.6% and 0.6% respectively.

Just For Apparel?

The question that arises is whether Memorial Day is just for apparel.

Yet, other top non-apparel brands have shown that this is hardly the case. Over the three day weekend, Apple Stores saw visits rise 95.9% for Saturday, 47.8% for Sunday and 75.2% for Monday above their baseline for the period between June 2018 and May 2019. Showing that a technology retailer can break into this retail haven.

Why Does It Matter?

The ultimate goal of any retailer is to drive sales and one of the most effective ways of doing so is leveraging 'holidays'. While Best Buy has been a dominant player in the Black Friday sweepstakes, they have yet to maximize the potential to drive peaks elsewhere in the year. Must Memorial Day be limited to apparel players? Couldn’t a giant like Best Buy or Target find an angle to drive interest and in-store engagement?

Learning to more effectively utilize the full calendar is going to be a key barometer for offline retailers to drive sustained success. The brands that can turn off periods into opportunities are those that may have the best chance of creating success in a changing retail landscape.

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Checking in With Nike and Lululemon
Black Friday 2023 Retail Recap
Starbucks’ 2023 Holiday Menu & Red Cup Day Performance
Turkey Wednesday 2023
Who Attended the 2023 Pickleball Championship? 
Three Surprising Holiday Shopping Trends
What’s in Store for Ulta Beauty This Holiday Season?
Best Buy and Department Stores: A Holiday Deep Dive
Discount & Dollar Stores: Strength Toward The End of the Year
The State of Off-Price Retail: Discounts Seal The Deal
Placer Mall Index Recap: October 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: October 2023 Recap
Retail Corridors Ahead of the 2023 Holiday Season
California, Here Gap Comes
Checking in With Home Improvement
Getting Into the Glasses Game: Warby Parker Takes Over
Fitness Positioned for a Strong 2023 Finish
White Paper Recap: October 2023
Coffee Giants Brewing Up Business
Popeyes and Burger King Lead the Way
Diving into Yum!
Looking Ahead to Black Friday 2023
Blockbusters Drive Movie Theater Comeback
Crocs and Boot Barn: Shoe-Ins for Success
McDonald’s and Chipotle's Winning Recipe
The State Of Steak: Checking in With Texas Roadhouse
Pleasant Pastimes: Pickleball Potential Proves Potent
Who’s Driving Downtown Manhattan’s Weekend Revival?
Diving into Downtown Manhattan Foot Traffic Trends
Rite Aid: Rightsizing Right
Major League Soccer: Its Die-Hard and Casual Fans
The Anchor Recap: September 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: September 2023 Recap
Placer Mall Index Recap: September 2023
September White Paper Recap
The Consumer Habits of College Students
JCPenney: Rightsizing and Revitalizing
Pent-Up Demand Ahead of October Sales Events
4 Strategies Retailers are Using to Drive Traffic to Their Venues
5 Key Regional Grocery Players Impressing in 2023
Upscale Kitchenware Trending Up
Costco Finds More Room for Growth
Four C-Store Chains Making an A-Grade
National Parks + Outdoor Summer Activities
Diving Into Darden: Summer 2023 Update
The Summer Event Effect
Messi: Massive in Miami
Looking Back on Back to School 2023
The Anchor Recap: August 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai White Paper Recap: August 2023
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Strikes Again
Big Scoop: We All Scream For Ice Cream
Sports Away: Lululemon & Nike’s Momentum Continues
Summer Visits Heat Up For Recreation and Outdoor Gear Chains
No CSS overwrite - July 2023 Office Index Recap
Staging - August 2023 Mall Indec
Mid-Atlantic Grocery Deep Dive
Experiential Chains Heating Up This Summer
Petco Goes Big by Going Small
Ulta Beauty: Leading the Discretionary Pack
Discount and Dollar Chains Continue to Thrive
Summer of Sports: DICK’s Sporting Goods and Hibbett Sports
Off-Price: Succeeding Into Summer
The Anchor Recap: July 2023
Superstores Maintaining Pandemic Gains Amidst Economic Headwinds
2023: Home Improvement at the Halfway Point
July 2023 Office Index Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: July 2023 Recap
The Taylor Swift Visit Lift
Southwestern Grocery Dive
July 2023 White Paper Recap: Halfway Point Review & Quarterly Index
Yum! Brands: Driving Dining Visits
Slurpees and Summer Movies Stimulate Consumer Foot Traffic
Cool Beans: Summer Coffee Update
Checking In on Back to School 2023
Crocs and New Balance Tip The Scales
Burger Bliss: Shake Shack and In-N-Out Stacking Visits
Chipotle & McDonald's Continue to Reign Supreme
Vibenomics and Placer.ai Partner to Enhance Retail Media In-Store Measurement
California Grocers Here We Come!
Marriott’s Different Audiences
Bonchon and Kura Sushi Thrive in the Fast-Casual Scene
A Shoe In: Footwear Climbs to the Top
Cheers! Raising a Glass to Beverage Retail
Placer.ai Office Index: June 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index June 2023 Recap – A Turn of the Tide and a Dive into Open-Air Lifestyle Centers
Local Kitchens: Redefining the Restaurant
Unlocking Urban Insights: The Value in Manhattan’s Employees
Ohio State Parks On The Rise
How is Inflation Impacting the High-Income Shoppers?
Five Fast-Growing Dining Chains
What To Expect From Prime Day and July Sales Events in 2023
The State Of Fashion: How Are Apparel Retailers Faring in 2023?
2023’s Latest Dining Success Story: GEN Korean BBQ House
The NBA Finals: A Location Intelligence Perspective
Moving the Market: The Impact of Domestic Migration on Housing Costs
Post-Pandemic Museum Update
The Darden-est Things