Google says deal searches up 20% for Black Friday

Black Friday search increases.Google has some interesting numbers around Black Friday and the deal-conscious consumer. Of course everyone loves a good deal, but it’s pretty cool to see the data. Apparently Black Friday searches in general were up 20%, while searches for “Black Friday deals” and “Black Friday ads” shot up 50% over last year. People were even after specific stores more than usual, with searches for “Walmart Black Friday,” “Kohls Black Friday Ad,” “Sears Black Friday Sales,” and “Target Black Friday Deals Online,” among the top searches.

It’s funny, then, to consider that most of the Black Friday deals I found online were actually through snapshots of physical advertisements. Despite online retailers like Amazon running deals, it seems most retailers are still relying on old media to get the ads out. It’s consumers that have taken the time to get the ads posted and available online.

Deal shopping this year was most apparent in the consumer electronics department where searches were up more than 300%. Again, makes sense. People want to get those big ticket items or less, and retailers have been willing to cut some of the bigger profit margins just to get people in the store lately.

Source: Google Retail Blog