The Shops @Rockvale In Lancaster Penn Will Have Food Trucks & More At Black Friday Sales

Deals are coming fast, and just shortly after shoppers have finished scarfing down turkey and cranberry sandwich leftovers, Black Friday shows up. Starting at 6:00 am, The Shops @Rockvale 35 S. Willowdale Drive Lancaster PA 17602 will have their stores open, and food and coffee trucks ready to sell and serve some well-needed food and caffeine if shoppers are to come out victoriously on the other side of deals.

This Black Friday and Christmas shopping look to be a profitable one for retailers across the country. Brick and mortar stores raked in 84 percent of the holiday sales in 2017, according to Gartner L2’s Intelligence Report: Omnichannel 2018. This is despite the significant competition being posed by online retailers, whose sales rose last year by 14.7 percent.

Despite the growing popularity of online stores like Amazon, brick and mortar retailers have nothing to worry about because most consumers are still more than willing to visit physical stores. In fact, the shifting trends can create an advantage for retailers with physical stores.

Black Friday is closing in, and it is poised to be more relevant than ever. Some stores have already begun giving away all sorts of deals and discounts, with many sellers treating the month as an extended form of Black Friday. Some are dubbing it as Black November.

But the vast majority of spenders are waiting for Black Friday and they are ready to look for the best deals. Right now, retailers don’t need to worry about competing with brick and mortar stores who have already started giving away discounts weeks ago.

Black Friday is Still the Busiest Holiday Shopping Day. The most important thing to know as of this moment is that Black Friday is still the most anticipated event for shoppers this year. Expect it to be the busiest holiday because around 75 percent of Americans are expected to shop. One of the reasons is that it is experiential. Online shopping does not give the same thrill of waking up early, meeting up with friends or family and finding deals is all part of the thrill.

Black Friday shoppers are expected to spend an average of $427 between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, up from $400 last year.

Physical Stores are very much alive. There has been a significant amount of people concerned over the rise of online retailers and its apparent effect on brick and mortar establishments. But with the holiday sales mentioned above, it’s safe to say that these stores are very much alive.

For the second year in a row, Black Friday retail traffic for brick and mortar shops have remained steady, even with growth seen by Amazon and other popular online stores. Outlet centers, in particular, are seeing a strong growth curve.

But the key takeaway is that while online stores will not be the “death” of physical stores, the latter still has some adapting to do, especially if these businesses want to make the most out of the digital trend.

Embracing the so-called omnichannel environment is being viewed as one of the best moves right now. Brick and mortar shops have an edge over online-only retailers. Setting up an online store for well-established brick and mortar shops is a breeze. It is much harder to set up a physical store if it started as an online store. The ability to adapt to the shifting trends is necessary in any business, and Black Friday is the perfect channel in which retailers can test their ability to capture the growing e-commerce sales.

Black Friday until the Christmas season is a time wherein customers are hopping in and out of different stores to find the best bargains, and having a physical and digital presence will allow any retailer to cast a wider net.

In order to compete with the leading players in digital retail, brands should feature an advanced omnichannel of features and functionalities. The digital store must provide a real-time inventory of product pages and expedited shipping in time for the holidays. "To compete against the leading players in digital retail, [direct-to-consumer] brands must provide a series of baseline and advanced omnichannel features and functionalities, including real-time inventory on product pages and expedited shipping, in time for the holidays, all while communicating offerings," according to the report.

Shopper expectations are still high. If there are any doubts about retail shopping, please read this article, Retail Shopping is not dead. Shoppers don’t care much about where they purchase something as much as how their items are delivered. On-time delivery of gifts, for example, is the biggest concern of consumers this year. In fact, this is the concern of 91 percent of consumers. This is up by 6 percent from 2017, according to delivery service Dropoff’s annual holiday survey.

Retailers tend to face more delivery demands during the holiday season, but they also need to keep up with last-minute shoppers. Expect up to 77 percent of shoppers to go in at the last minute in 2018.

Customers are still craving the in-store experience. Physical storefronts are not just relevant—many customers crave the experience of walking in and shopping. This is simply something that an online store cannot provide. Many retailers are planning to keep their stores open on Thanksgiving night.

For people who are looking to spend Black Friday somewhere with the best discounts and bargains, The Shops @Rockvale offers a wide selection of apparel, furniture, toys, and gifts for the holiday season.