The US market has recovered and the retail industry has returned to pre-epidemic levels

NPD reported that U.S. retail sales had reached pre- pandemic levels in 2019 before the start of December . It is reported that before the start of December, sales revenue of general discretionary goods in the United States in 2021 had reached 100% of the highest level reached in 2019 and 98% of the peak in 2020.

According to data from the NPD Group, pessimistic forecasts for the U.S. market at the beginning of this year and consumers' early purchases during the holiday shopping season have prevented Black Friday sales from reaching pre -pandemic levels. Data shows that sales revenue during Thanksgiving week this year increased by 14% compared to the same week in 2020, but was 5% lower than the same period before the pandemic in 2019 .

" Although Black Friday has returned from last year's big explosion , it is no longer the Black Friday before the epidemic , " said Marshal Cohen , chief retail industry advisor at NPD . " Driven by early promotions and consumer concerns about supply shortages , coupled with the epidemic and inflation that have continuously reduced the purchasing power of American consumers, this series of circumstances has led to consumers' performance during the 2021 Black Friday promotion not being as hot as last year . "

However, given the early holiday shopping momentum this year and a Thanksgiving sales peak that is close to pre-pandemic levels , sales in the coming weeks deserve special attention.

Historical data shows that the week after Black Friday is the beginning of a quiet holiday shopping season , followed by a decline in sales throughout December, but fortunately the decline has been modest in recent years . Sales fell 16% in the week after Black Friday in 2019, a significant improvement from the 22% drop in 2018. The sales performance after Black Friday in 2020 completely defied the downward trend in the week after Thanksgiving. But holiday shopping after this year's peak season promotion may be even quieter .

For cross-border sellers, Christmas may improve their sales in December. However, consumer demand has changed. In order to evaluate the inventory performance indicators for the new quarter, sellers should start making more flexible plans for the last few weeks of sales for some festivals or seasonal products that are about to pass.

USA

Retail Market