Ace, NRF report big holiday sales
A record 196.7 million Americans shopped in stores and online during the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics (NRF).
The total number of shoppers grew by nearly 17 million from 2021 – the highest figure since NRF first started tracking this data in 2017.
Ace Hardware was among the beneficiaries of the national shopping surge. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based co-op reported that it logged record online sales, with a 33% increase over 2021, during the 5-day holiday shopping weekend from Thanksgiving thru Cyber Monday.
At Ace Hardware, Bill Kiss, head of digital, said “our continuous investments in the digital and omnichannel shopping experience make it easy for customers to shop Ace any way they prefer.”
Key figures from Ace included a 45% increase in sales on Black Friday over 2021, setting a new single day sales record for the hardware’s online sales.
Ace Hardware said it experienced a 33% increase in sales on Cyber Monday versus last year.
According to the NRF, retailers of all stripes saw a sizable uptick of in-store shoppers. More than 122.7 million people visited bricks-and-mortar stores over the weekend, up 17% from 2021.
The number of online shoppers also grew, albeit at a slower pace, said NRF. This year saw 130.2 million online shoppers, a 2% increase over 2021.
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay noted “the growth in consumers who are shopping in-store and online during the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend and into Cyber Monday. It is consumer demand that is driving growth.”
Ace Hardware attributed its own success to a variety of factors, it said, including convenience, brand name merchandise and unique promotions that make it easy for consumers to purchase large-ticket items and have them delivered ready-to-use from a local Ace store.
“Our strong increase in sales over the Cyber 5 weekend is a testament to our organizational focus of being the best in service, quality, and convenience for our customers,” said Kiss.
