In this week when we give thanks for all our blessings it seems crazy to me so much attention is on expanding our bounties. But that is the reality. So this week I thought I would look at the business that is Thanksgiving Week.
But first, let us not forget the first “Thanksgiving.”
It happened in late September or early October 1621 when the Pilgrims harvested their first crops – corn, squash, beans, barley, and peas. They also shot many migrating ducks and geese. They harvested and boiled the then plentiful lobster. William Bradford organized a harvest celebration and invited their Wampanoag native friends. These “guests” numbered more than 100, and outnumbered the Pilgrims by a 2 to 1 margin. Of the original 102 people on the Mayflower, only 53 people lived to see the celebration – and at least one, Francis Cooke, was my ancestor.
Here are seven interesting business facts about Thanksgiving commerce.
- The inflation-adjusted cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner costs 20% less today than in 1986 (American Farm Bureau). Another great example of productivity enhancement.
- About 50 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving, which is about 20% of the annual volume; down from about 40% in 1970) (National Turkey Federation).
- Wednesday before Thanksgiving stands-out for two reasons – first, it is usually the busiest day of the year for cars on the road and, second, the busiest day for alcohol sales in liquor stores and bars. It is not the busiest day in airports, but the Sunday after Thanksgiving was second last year. I was surprised to learn that the busiest days for airports are usually in the summer.
- Black Friday, which got its name first in 1966, is the busiest shopping day of the year. It is the first official day of the month-long $640 billion holiday shopping season when about 30% of all annual retail sales occur. (40% of all jewelry sales happen during this month.)
- In 2015 74 million people shopped on Black Friday, which continued its downward trend from a high of 92 million in 2013. Black Friday sales dipped last year to 10.4 billion from 11.6 billion in 2014.
- Also, Thanksgiving Day retail sales declined to $1.8 billion in 2015 from $2.0 billion in 2014. In the future you may see fewer stores open on Thanksgiving because most experts agree these sales come at the expense of Black Friday sales.
- Cyber-Monday sales rose 16% to $3 billion in 2015 and 26% of these sales came from mobile devices like smartphones.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and let us not forget to bless our bounties.
