Black Friday looks way different for you than it used to — if your customers lined up outside your stores freezing in the middle of the night a few years ago, they’re now overloading your servers with a record-breaking $17.5 billion in online sales from their couches. For retailers and brands, that means rethinking everything from distribution to last mile delivery. Look no further than luxury skiwear brand Perfect Moment’s strategic pivot into North American wholesale or Benjamin Moore’s savvy move to arm independent dealers with same-day delivery capabilities as evidence. Meanwhile, as Kohl’s thinks of closing brick-and-mortar stores, the real winners are those prioritizing how they connect with customers — such as with loyalty programs that deliver the personalization modern shoppers demand. Let’s break down the trends and tactics that shaped this year’s Black Friday and will shape the course of peak season these next few weeks.
Black Friday 2024: Who Slayed & Who Strayed?
From camping crowds to online carts, retailers that once managed midnight doorbusters now face a different type of Black Friday in 2024, with clear winners and losers emerging.
Digital Dollars Dominated (While Stores Stayed Silent)
The clicks (and taps) beat the bricks in 2024, with online sales soaring 7% to reach $17.5 billion, according to Salesforce (Adobe tracked $10.8 billion — take your pick). Shoppers spent a mind-boggling $11.3 million online every minute between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Meanwhile, physical stores saw less activity in their aisles — traffic dropped 3.2% nationwide, with the Midwest taking the biggest hit at 7% fewer shoppers. Even the legendary Mall of America, which drew 13,000 eager shoppers at 7 a.m., couldn’t save in-store shopping from its digital defeat.
AI Chatbots & Toys Partied While Prices Plunged
AI chatbots were the unexpected stars, surging 1,800% on retail sites as shoppers used them to track down deals. Meanwhile, traditional toys proved they still have staying power, with sales skyrocketing 622% above average daily sales. Harry Potter LEGO sets and “Wicked” movie merchandise notably flew off virtual shelves. But these wins came at a cost — retailers slashed prices like never before. Electronics saw 27.4% discounts, apparel dropped 22.2% and toys were marked down 27.8%. Looks like 2024’s Black Friday winners paid a pretty penny to earn their crown.
Perfect Moment Taps NYC Fashion Agency to Supercharge North American Wholesale Distribution
Perfect Moment is taking its slope-ready luxury skiwear brand to new heights in North America by doubling down on wholesale distribution and partnering with CD Network. From setting up shop in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards to bringing its coveted collections directly to the continent’s most influential buyers and prestigious stores, there’s much to be intrigued about here.
CD Network: Opening Doors from NYC to Vancouver
CEO Mark Buckley’s choice of CD Network marks Perfect Moment’s first-ever North American sales agency partnership. The agency’s founder, Christophe Desmaison, brings decades of relationships with premium retailers to the table. His team will lead the expansion of Perfect Moment’s presence beyond its e-commerce channel and aim for record-high wholesale numbers with its fall/winter 2025 collection.
Showroom to Store Shelves: The Distribution Blueprint
Starting this month, Perfect Moment will roll out new showroom spaces in New York City. Head of business development Rosela Mitropoulos, who previously worked with Desmaison, will sync the brand’s in-house goals with CD Network’s distribution strategy. The partnership targets year-round sales growth, pushing both slope-ready gear and city-focused outerwear to capitalize on the luxury ski apparel market’s projected climb to $1.5 billion.
Paint Giant’s Same-Day Delivery Gives Small Dealers a Fighting Chance
Standing toe to toe with retail giants like Amazon sounds impossible for small paint dealers. Yet Benjamin Moore recently flipped that narrative on its head by equipping its independent retailers with same-day delivery capabilities that can compete with anyone.
Local Paint Shops Score Big with Lightning-Fast Delivery
Benjamin Moore dealers now zip paint supplies to customers up to 20 miles away, and the results speak volumes — retailers offering same-day service saw customer satisfaction soar to 80%, sales jump to 70% and retention rates climb to 66%. From rushing an extra gallon to contractors mid-job to saving DIY warriors precious weekend time, these small shops deliver the speed modern customers crave.
Small Shops, Big Results
It might seem like mega-corporations dominate same-day retail delivery (Amazon ramped up same-day deliveries 65% in Q4 2023), but Benjamin Moore proves small players can thrive. Since 2020, the paint maker’s same-day delivery program has spread like wildfire through its independent network. Happy customers are 21% more likely to return after a smooth delivery experience — loyalty that keeps the lights on and the doors open for local paint shops competing against mega-retailers.
Will Kohl’s Join the Retail Store Closure Club? Plot Twist Ahead
Kohl’s once stood proud as the department store bucking the closure trend — but the winds of change are blowing through its 80,000-square-foot stores. While Macy’s has been steadily shrinking its footprint, Kohl’s bold expansion moves in 2023 (opening six stores and only closing two) might soon look like the retail equivalent of famous last words.
From ‘All Stores Profitable’ to ‘Well, What Had Happened Was …’
The cracks are showing in Kohl’s armor. CFO Jill Timm’s recent admission that “over 90% of stores are four-wall cash-positive” reveals an uncomfortable truth: Roughly 117 locations out of the 1,174-store fleet are bleeding money. Those massive 80,000-square-foot spaces, once filled with optimistic partnerships like Babies R Us, might be starting to feel more like an albatross than an asset.
The 300-Store Question Mark
Evercore ISI analysts have spotted a concerning pattern: More than 300 Kohl’s stores have been collecting dust in the investment department, particularly those opened outside the Midwest comfort zone in the last 15 years. The retailer’s reluctance to close stores might finally crack under pressure, with analysts predicting 2025 could bring Kohl’s first major store closure program. With incoming CEO Ashley Buchanan (currently at Michaels) taking the reins from Tom Kingsbury in January, the writing on the fitting room wall suggests Kohl’s might finally have to face the music.
Want Holiday Shoppers to Stick Around? Make Your Loyalty Program Worth Their While
We get it; keeping customers returning feels harder than ever. When 37% of shoppers are ditching their go-to brands to chase better deals, you need a loyalty program that offers some value during the holidays and keeps them hooked long after the Christmas lights come down.
Give Them the VIP Treatment They Actually Want
Forget the old “buy 10, get one free” punch cards. Your customers want to feel special, and the numbers prove it — an 80% jump in personalized offers that show you get them. Put those fancy AI tools to work learning what makes each shopper tick because, let’s face it, nobody likes getting bombarded with irrelevant deals (40% of your customers are likely fed up with that nonsense).
Make Shopping Fun
Here’s a wild thought — shopping during the holidays doesn’t have to feel like a chore. Turn your loyalty program into a playground with instant wins and holiday challenges. Your customers are already glued to their phones (24% care more about a smooth app experience than price), so give them something worth tapping. Mix it up across email (where 54% of folks love to shop), social media (43% can’t resist) and text messages (26% are all-in). When you make earning rewards feel like a game, those holiday shoppers might stick around to play another round come January. And at the heart of it all, Customer Experience is key – whether through engaging loyalty programs that keep shoppers coming back or providing a consistent, unified commerce experience from in-store to online that turns holiday buyers into year-round brand advocates.
How OneRail Levels the Playing Field
The stories above share a common thread: Survival in retail now hinges on lightning-fast delivery, whether you’re a neighborhood paint store or a national retail chain. While most last mile delivery companies focus on retail giants, and the last mile logistics landscape grows more complex by the day, OneRail has quietly mastered something different — making speed and reliability accessible to businesses of any size.
- Unparalleled Courier Network: Place your deliveries in trusted hands by tapping into OneRail’s massive national network, boasting more than 12 million vetted drivers.
- OmniPoint® Platform: Leverage OneRail’s OmniPoint Platform for automated rate shopping, smart matching and real-time visibility to guarantee timely and cost-effective deliveries.
- Exceptions Assist™: Benefit from proactive monitoring, with a dedicated team of logistics experts at the ready 24/7 to tackle any challenges and disruptions, safeguarding your on-time delivery rate.
No matter your industry, OneRail can transform your logistics strategy. Schedule a demo today to find out how.
