Winners and Losers in NRF's Black Friday Numbers

Topline numbers from the National Retail Federation's Black Friday study may have gotten all the attention earlier this week, but its data on shopping patterns may be more valuable simply because it shows which stores can still draw the shopping hordes -- and which can't.

For instance, supermarkets received 12 percent of store visits during the latest Black Friday period, Nov. 28 to 30, versus 9.7 percent the year before, suggesting that consumers were interested in convenient shopping and practical gifts for the holidays. Drugstores won 12 percent after being stuck at 9.7 percent for two years. Practical gifts don't necessarily mean broccoli and prescriptions: A Nielsen study notes that consumers think beer, wine and spirits are a great idea this holiday season.

Online shopping also got a boost, with 34 percent of consumers turning to the Internet this year versus 32 percent last year and 23 percent the year before. Comparing prices on the Internet appeared to be especially popular as people sought the best Black Friday values.

Conversely, specialty stores took the biggest and most frightening hit this Black Friday weekend. While 43 percent of shoppers visited a specialty store during the Black Friday period last year, only 38 percent did so this year.

Specialty stores are destinations, places shoppers visit to make specific purchases. Specialty retailers can't coax consumers to buy a television by offering them a deal on potato chips or Christmas wrapping, so they promote heavily for Black Friday. This year, it didn't pay off.

Poor specialty store result are particularly bad news for Circuit City. The battered retailer, which was already an also-ran in the home-electronics specialty sector, may see its chances of survival diminish sharply if consumers are generally reluctant to shop at specialty stores for the remainder of the holidays.