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Bigger savings on Black Friday

Retailers add more specials to lure worried shoppers

By Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 27, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Shoppers look over sales fliers as they wait outside an Ultimate Electronics store in Denver on Black Friday last year. Shoppers crowded stores in search of discounts.

Photo by Matthew Staver / Bloomberg News 2007

Shoppers look over sales fliers as they wait outside an Ultimate Electronics store in Denver on Black Friday last year. Shoppers crowded stores in search of discounts.

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Can Black Friday save what's threatening to be a blue Christmas for retailers?

Stores this year are offering broader and deeper discounts on the Friday after Thanksgiving in a bid to lure anxiety-racked shoppers. J.C. Penney added 20 percent more specials than last year for a total of 400, while Toys "R" Us says it will have 50 percent more discounts and is extending its sales to Babies "R" Us stores for the first time in years.

The Black Friday doorbusters come after many retailers have offered a deluge of Black Friday-sized deals and extended hours for weeks now, potentially jading some bargain hunters. After reporting the worst October sales in at least 39 years, retailers from consumer electronics to luxury boutiques rolled out discounts as high as 60 percent off new merchandise soon after Halloween.

"The deals over the past three to four weeks have been so good that they've kind of taken the thunder away from Black Friday," said Dan de Grandpre, founder and editor-in-chief of dealnews.com. "I think the foot traffic on Black Friday will be tremendous, but the conversion from shopping to buying will be lower."

Even with abundant discounts in November, customers are still reluctant to shop in the face of job worries and the stock market swoon. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported Tuesday that the retail store sales index declined 0.9 percent in the week of Nov. 22 from its level a week before. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales decline 0.8 percent in the latest week.

Black Friday isn't usually the busiest shopping day of the year - that's the Saturday before Christmas - and it isn't even that reliable a predictor of how the season will go. Last year, stores reported cash registers ringing on Black Friday only to have momentum fall in the weeks following, while 2006 posted a sluggish Black Friday but a very strong December, said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation.

"It's important because it sets the tone," Krugman said. "If there are long lines, it sends a message that there's great pricing."

A survey of 100 chief marketing officers by BDO Seidman at leading retailers found that they expect Black Friday sales to rise 1.2 percent this year, below the 8.3 percent growth seen a year ago. Consumer electronic retailers are expected to perform the strongest, while apparel stores and jewelry stores will lag, said Ted Vaughan, a partner in BDO Seidman's retail and consumer product practice.

Consumer electronics have "something new to offer" while there aren't any hot trends in fashion this year, Vaughan said. The category also benefits from straddling both adult and kid populations, since many frugal families likely aren't going to play grinch with their children.

Consumers are increasingly shifting to cash from credit cards in an attempt to stay within their budgets this holiday, he said, which might temper sales of big ticket items like high-definition televisions.

"If customers aren't using their credit cards, they're going to spread their buying out more over time" instead of stocking up on Black Friday, he said.

Toys "R" Us this year is expanding the breadth of its Black Friday specials as well as giving shoppers an extra hour - from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. instead of noon last year - to lure shoppers. The Wayne, N.J.-based retailer began offering specials in October and doesn't plan to let up after Black Friday.

"Toys "R" Us is going to have special deals going on every day from now until Christmas," said Bob Friedland, a spokesman with the company.

davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2514

STORES GIVE SHOPPERS AN EARLY, EARLY START

More than 60 million people shopped Black Friday last year, and one in four of those shoppers was at the stores by 5 a.m. But some start even earlier.

Thanksgiving night * The Outlets at Castle Rock, Loveland and Silverthorne open at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

4 a.m. * Kohl's * J.C. Penney * Dick's Sporting Goods

5 a.m.

* Best Buy

* Wal-Mart

* Circuit City

* Old Navy

* Sam's Club

* Sears

* Toys "R" Us

* Babies "R" Us

6 a.m.

* Home Depot

* Lowe's

* Staples

* Target

* Kmart

Web sites post deals

Many stores will post their Black Friday deals on their Web sites on Thanksgiving. Other sites have had "leaked" circulators up for weeks:

* bfads.net

* fatwallet.com

* gottadeal.com

* dealnews.com

Comments

  • November 27, 2008

    8:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    timeandagain writes:

    This behavior is absolutely MENTAL!!

  • November 28, 2008

    12:20 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rj1967 writes:

    Save 100% by not shopping at all. So what if the stores all cry a river, half of them just sell a bunch of materialistic junk anyway.