Physical stores are once again the stars of “Black Friday” in the US.

Physical stores regained their prominence on American “Black Friday” this year, where avid shoppers again formed long lines early in the day in front of department stores in the country, reflecting a relative return to normality, although the pandemic continued to affect the availability of some products.

In front of the iconic Macy’s department store, in the heart of New York, hundreds of people waited anxiously to walk through its doors at 6 in the morning, when they opened after having been closed for the previous day, on Thanksgiving. .

Macy’s races were also seen at the American Dream Mall, one of the most important shopping centers on the east coast of the United States, where customers flocked despite the problems in the supply chains caused by the covid this year. -19 resulted in significantly lower markdowns.

For this year, the National Association of Retailers of the USA (NRF, in English) predicts that 64% of the buyers go to physical stores, unlike 2020, when the pandemic forced many of the transactions to be online .

Even so, online purchases are expected to continue to be powerful, and according to data from Adobe Analytics, they will spend between $ 8,800 and 9,600 million, compared to 9,030 million in 2020.

In total, and despite the high inflation rates that are registered in the country, it is expected that almost two million more people than last year make purchases from Thanksgiving itself, through “Black Friday” and even “Cyber ​​Monday,” according to estimates by the US National Retail Association (NRF).

“We are looking forward to another record breaking holiday season, and Thanksgiving weekend is going to play a huge role,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

Experts point out that the fact that the volume of purchases may break all-time highs is not precisely due to the fact that prices are especially lowered, because the problems that the US has experienced in its supply chain as a result of the pandemic have led to in a limited supply of some products.

For example, video game consoles are in high demand and short supply, so the sales have been lower, explained Julie Ramhold, an analyst at DealNews.com.

“You should buy the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X or S as soon as possible,” said Ramhold, who said that stocks of these products in the last year have been low.

It is also estimated that the sales of household appliances are on average 8.4%, compared to 17.2% in 2020, and that the prices of sports products fall only 5.9%, compared to to 13% from last year.

The department store chain Nordstrom, for example, has assured that it faces a shortage of stocks, while Gap has assured that its sales in the third quarter of the year have been reduced as a result of this lack of “stock”.

On the other hand, other analysts point out that the biggest sales could come after “Black Friday”, since the delays in the delivery of products, mainly linked to traffic jams at the US ports of entry, could lead to an excess of stock for retailers after the marked date.

“At some point, backorders will come in and have more than they need,” explained Brad’s Deals spokesperson Casey Runyan. (I)