• Shopper traffic data indicates that visits to physical stores on Black Friday remain down -28.3% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels
• Data indicates consumers are prioritizing in-store shopping this season to avoid potential shipping delays, despite COVID-19 concerns
• Sixty five percent of U.S. consumers plan to shop in-store this holiday season for product-related reasons, like browsing for gift ideas or to see/touch products before buying

NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland—November 27, 2021—Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, today 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 -28.3% decline in traffic on Black Friday, November 26, compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, but a 47.5% increase compared to 2020. These results are informed by retail traffic data analytics within the company’s intelligent operating platform, Sensormatic IQ.

“While in-store shopping is still not back to 2019 levels, more shoppers felt comfortable visiting stores in person this Black Friday than in 2020,” said Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting, Sensormatic Solutions. “One driver of this increased traffic could be ongoing supply chain challenges and shipping delays, which are resulting in consumers shopping earlier to ensure their gifts arrive on time. With ongoing staffing challenges due to the labor shortage, retailers can leverage data-driven solutions to ensure their stores are appropriately staffed and shelves are stocked during anticipated busy shopping days.”

Traffic on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday

Visits to physical stores on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, decreased by -90.4% compared to 2019 as many retailers closed on Thanksgiving Day, like they did in 2020. The peak time for in-store Black Friday shopping was between 1-3 p.m., as it has been in years past.

“Retailers kicked off holiday deals early this year to spread traffic peaks out throughout the season, helping to avoid crowded stores on Black Friday, better track and plan inventory, and create an improved holiday shopping experience,” said Field. “According to Sensormatic Solutions 2021 Holiday Consumer Sentiment Survey, 65% of U.S. consumers plan to shop in-store this holiday season for product-related reasons, like browsing for gift ideas or to see/touch products before buying. Inventory inaccuracy is especially detrimental during this time of year because demand is at its peak and there is a greater risk of lost revenue, productivity, and shoppers. Retailers can use can RFID-enabled inventory solutions to limit out of stocks by having the right inventory in the right place at the right time.”

The Rest of the Holiday Season

“With concerns about supply chain delays, we expect to see consumers make the most of in-store shopping opportunities. Coupled with unified commerce options like buy online, pick up in-store and pickup at curbside, consumers can ensure they are getting their holiday shopping done when and where it’s most convenient and in using fully integrated inventory intelligence retailers can feel confident in the accurate data powering each shopping channel,” said Field.

Sensormatic Solutions expects the 10 busiest U.S. shopping days in 2021 to account for 40% of all holiday traffic. U.S. in-store traffic for this year’s holiday season is also expected to be down between -10% and -15% compared to 2019. To learn more about Sensormatic Solutions holiday season traffic predictions, please visit Global Top Busiest Holiday Shopping Days.

For more Sensormatic Solutions holiday insights, follow along on LinkedIn and Twitter, using #SensormaticHolidays2021.

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet.

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world's largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. 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 powering operational excellence at scale and enabling smart and connected shopper engagement. Our intelligent digital operating platform – Sensormatic IQ – combines the full Sensormatic Solutions portfolio, including third-party data to deliver unmatched insights into shopper experience, inventory intelligence, loss prevention and operational effectiveness with advanced technologies, like AI and Machine Learning. This enables retailers to act on prescriptive and predictive data-driven outcomes to confidently move into the future. Please visit Sensormatic Solutions or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and our YouTube channel.

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