While Labor Day is known for its promotions, not all retailers benefit equally: the holiday is actually one of the worst revenue days for local retailers, ranking at No. 309 for the year in 2017, according to Womply. Sales declined to 23% below the daily average, with the average retailer bringing in $1,210.71 from 10.2 transactions at an average purchase price of $118.71.
However, two bright spots were appliance shops, where Labor Day ranked sixth for the year, and furniture stores, where the holiday ranked third. Computer and electronics stores also thrive in the period surrounding the holiday, which is still considered part of the back-to-school season: four of these retailers’ top 20 shopping days occur during the 12-day period surrounding the holiday.
The holiday holds promise for e-Commerce retailers: 2018 online sales are expected to grow 19% over 2017, making it the first $2 billion day of the year, according to research by Adobe. Labor Day is the only day expected to top that milestone outside of the holiday shopping season.
“On Labor Day, consumers take advantage of a little time off from work to wrap up their school shopping and snap up end-of season bargains,” said Taylor Schreiner, Director of Adobe Digital Insights in a blog post. “We think it’s one of the rising holidays that that savvy retailers can really maximize for sales and building customer loyalty.”
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Barbecues And Back-To-School Spur Sales
Food retailers also reap benefits before and during Labor Day: 40.6% of Americans, amounting to 133 million people, will enjoy a cookout over Labor Day weekend, according to research by WalletHub.
In contrast, Labor Day ranked No. 332 for local clothing stores, following a sales spike in early August. Womply suggested This dichotomy may be due to parents buying clothes for their children before the semester begins, according to Womply, but waiting until after the school year starts for big purchases like laptops and graphing calculators.
Brick-and-mortar retailers looking to capitalize on the holiday with promotions may want to consider the weekend preceding it: the Friday of Labor Day weekend ranked No. 14 by revenue in 2017. This may be due to shoppers taking advantage of sales before going on a trip for the remainder of the weekend.
Labor Day sales also should tap into shoppers’ desire for big-ticket items, which 63% of shoppers prefer buying in-store, according to a study by Avionos. A holiday sale can be the push some customers need before they commit to the new mattress or television they may have been eyeing.
