 |
Retailers reset Black Friday prices for bargain-hungry shoppers
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, November 26, 2009
Americans have forced themselves to economize and make fewer visits to stores all year.
Now, with the holiday season upon us, they want to buy gifts for family and friends and give in to some of their own pent-up demand. They're going to find cashmere sweaters no longer cost $200, 32-inch flat screen TVs can be had for under $300, and $10 buys a basic winter jacket but $49 gets a nicer one.
Consumers and retailers have changed their ways during this long recession, but as 77 million shoppers seek the best deals in Dallas and nationwide the day after Thanksgiving, savvy shoppers will spend money to save money.
Discounters Wal-Mart and Target let shoppers know about their Black Friday doorbuster deals early this week. So did J.C. Penney, Kohl's, Best Buy and Toys R Us. Retailers have ordered less merchandise to prevent getting stuck with racks of clearance items. They've offered some of their best deals early, trying to snag a share of budget-conscious consumers' spending. Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group representing malls and retail centers, said the traditional big bargain day of shopping isn't necessarily "a precursor of the entire holiday season's sales picture."
He's anticipating a strong day Friday and projects a modest sales gain of about 1 percent above last year for the all-important November-December season. More than 134 million people are expected to shop Friday, Saturday or Sunday, up considerably from last year's estimate of 128 million.
Toys R Us Inc. discounts came early and more frequently this year, said Greg Ahearn, senior vice president of marketing and e-commerce. To capture frugal shoppers, who are more often researching prices and availability online, the company is operating six Web sites this year, adding FAO.com, babyuniverse.com and toys.com to established sites toysrus.com, babiesrus.com and etoys.com.
Walmart.com and other retailers are selling Friday in-store specials online early on Thanksgiving, letting some shoppers sleep in on Black Friday. Despite that, the day after still is forecast to be the No. 1 shopping day by traffic and sales, according to shopping center and store traffic tracker ShopperTrak.
Amazon.com joined in Monday, declaring this "Black Friday Week" and offering deals each day. The leading online retailer is in a pitched battle with Walmart.com for supremacy, fighting it out since October, when each began offering $10 books and DVDs.
Wal-Mart's 24-hour Supercenters have always stayed open on Thanksgiving Day, but they won't be the only place to shop this year. Irving-based Michaels Stores is opening its locations from 5 to 9 p.m. to accommodate households that want Christmas decorations.
Gap Inc. is opening almost 1,000 Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores on Thanksgiving this year after trying it out with a few locations last year.
All three chains will be open today at Galleria Dallas. Old Navy will be giving away guitars for the popular Rock Band video game to the first 20 customers, said spokeswoman Kris Marubio.
"We doubled the stores that are open this year, especially in larger cities where lots of people are in town to visit family," Marubio said. "We know they'll be buying for themselves, too, so we have lots of buy-one, get-one-free discounts."
Special values appeal to the new "Generation R" – R for reset, said Matthew Katz, a managing director and head of the retail practice at consultant AlixPartners. Katz said consumers have reset their behavior by making fewer purchases, moving toward value-oriented retailers and exercising more patience.
"We don't see this trend changing during the 2009 holiday spending period," he said. The firm surveyed 3,500 consumers the first week of November, and 88 percent said they plan to maintain or spend less than they did during last year's anemic holiday season.
Luxury and jewelry were among the hardest-hit segments last year, experiencing monthly sales declines of more than 20 percent. On Friday morning, Dallas-based Neiman Marcus is giving shoppers a $50 coupon for spending $100 between 9 a.m. and noon. Irving-based Zales Jewelers is giving away free diamond studs valued at $99 with purchases of $399 or more Friday.
Apparel is a closely watched category, even for those retailers that don't sell it.
Kip Tindell, chief executive of Coppell-based Container Store, is watching apparel sales because they reflect pent-up demand that women satisfy first. "When she goes back to Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, then she's back at the Container Store, Crate and Barrel, and Williams-Sonoma," he said.
Women's apparel sales have been declining this year but increased 0.6 percent in October from a year ago, according to MasterCard Advisor's SpendingPulse report.
Black Friday has always been a good time to buy winter coats. Among Penney's doorbusters is a women's St. John's Bay cashmere-blend pea coat that comes in nine colors and is discounted to $49.88 from its promotional price of $99. This year, there must have been a factory in China that cranked out puffer vests and jackets.
Wal-Mart is selling reversible "bubble" jackets for the whole family for $7 each.
Target, which is open an hour earlier at 5 a.m. this year, has a women's reversible puffer vest for $7.50 and winter jersey scarves for $5. For $12.50, it's a smart look.
Create A Screen Name
Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.
Your screen name will appear to everyone.
NOTE: You cannot change, delete,
or edit your screen name once you hit "Save".
RSS
E-Mail newsletters
- Internet Explorer 7+
- FireFox 3+
- Safari
If you are using Internet Explorer 7, make sure Phishing Filter is turned off by going to Tools / Phishing Filter / Turn Off Automatic Website Checking. If you are using Internet Explorer 8, make sure InPrivate Filtering is turned off and InPrivate Filtering data has been cleared. To turn off InPrivate Filtering go to Tools / InPrivate Filtering Settings, select the "off" button and click "OK". To clear InPrivate Filtering dataYou must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name