Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) reported record Black Friday weekend sales, and Stifel analysts said those numbers could lift the company’s shares, which have been lagging recently. Indeed, they did get a bit of a lift on Tuesday, although today the needle hasn’t moved more than 1% as of this writing.
Groupon benefits from mobile shopping
Stifel analysts Jordan E. Rohan, Michael B. Purcell and Alex Chavdaroff report that Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) saw a 30% year over year increase in billings over the four-day holiday shopping weekend. Mobile shopping continued to be one of the key driving factor as the company said about 55% of transactions in North America were completed on a mobile device.
The analysts said Groupon continues to be a dominant force in Daily Deals and also mobile ecommerce. The company reported that it saw especially good responses in several different categories, including toys, home goods and electronics. Groupon reported selling over 15,000 Keurig brewing system units and at least 17,000 Flirty Aprons.
Black Friday numbers good for ecommerce
Online spending grew 15% year over year on Black Friday, while it grew 16% on Cyber Monday. Stifel analysts said ecommerce leaders like eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) enjoyed growth rates over the overall sector and that Groupon “seems to be following suit.” They said the company received big benefits from the “rebound in consumer demand and higher mobile activity.”
The analysts said investors should still view Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) as more of a long-term investment because of “the many moving parts. However, they said the holiday shopping weekend numbers should provide a short-term boost. They continue to have a Buy rating and $15 per share price target on Groupon.
[drizzle]Groupon has fallen approximately 29% since it hit a 52-week high of $12.86 in September. Shares are now trading at around $9 apiece.
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