NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland—(November 28, 2020)—Johnson Controls, a global leader for smart and sustainable buildings, and the architect of OpenBlue connected solutions, today announced that Sensormatic Solutions, its leading global retail solutions portfolio, released preliminary shopper visit data for U.S. brick-and-mortar retail stores and shopping centers on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. Findings indicate that shopper visits resulted in a 52.1% decline in traffic on Black Friday, November 27, compared to 2019. Shopper traffic also decreased 45.2% week-to-date (Sunday, November 22 – Friday, November 27) compared to same period last year.

“Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, shoppers were more purposeful in their in-person Black Friday shopping, causing significantly less crowds than we’ve seen in the past,” said Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting, Sensormatic Solutions. “This was compounded by retailers not offering as many in-store doorbusters and the increasing adoption of e-commerce.”

While many retailers limited their Black Friday hours compared to non-pandemic years, the peak time for shopping remained the same, with the busiest influx of footfall at 2 p.m.

Traffic on Thanksgiving Day

Visits to physical stores on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, decreased by 94.9% compared 2019.

“Although traffic on Thanksgiving Day has risen in recent years, we are not surprised to see the departure from this trend in 2020,” said Field. “Many well-known retailers elected to close on Thanksgiving this year to prevent crowds in stores and give their hard-working employees more time with their families. Additionally, with Black Friday deals being spread throughout the holiday season, the typical holiday traffic peaks are flattening, with more days sharing importance throughout the season.”

The Rest of the Holiday Season

“As we approach Super Saturday, December 19, and corresponding shipping deadlines, we expect to see some of the in-store traffic that didn’t materialize on Black Friday appear as consumers wrap up their holiday shopping and make last-minute purchases,” said Field.

Sensormatic Solutions expects the 10 busiest days in 2020 to account for 34.2% of all holiday traffic as compared to 46.5% in 2019.

To learn how Sensormatic Solutions is supporting the retail industry’s urgent COVID-19 needs this holiday season, visit Sensormatic.com. For more Sensormatic Solutions’ holiday insights, follow along on Twitter, using #SensormaticHolidays2020.

At Johnson Controls, we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort, we drive the outcomes that matter most. We deliver our promise in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the power behind our customers’ mission. Our leading portfolio of building technology and solutions includes some of the most trusted names in the industry, such as Tyco®, YORK®, Metasys®, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, Penn®, Sabroe®, Simplex®, Ansul® and Grinnell®. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

Sensormatic Solutions is the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls enabling smart and connected shopper engagement. By combining critical insights into retail inventory, shopper traffic and loss prevention, Sensormatic Solutions powers operational excellence at scale and helps create unique shopping experiences. Our solutions deliver real-time visibility and predictive analytics for accurate decision-making across the enterprise, enabling retailers to confidently move into the future. With more than 1.5 million data collection devices in the retail marketplace, we capture 40 billion shopper visits and track and protect billions of items each year. Our retail portfolio features the premier Sensormatic, ShopperTrak and TrueVUE brands. Please visit Sensormatic Solutions or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and our YouTube channel.

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