http://www.cnbc.com/id/102178997
In preparation for the infamous, unofficial shopping day known as Black Friday, many consumers often make a list and check it at least twice weeks in advance.The trouble is, people who wait until Black Friday often miss out on the best deals, retail analyst Stacey Widlitz told CNBC this week. Many shoppers eagerly anticipate the day after Thanksgiving, with groups of friends getting together early in the morning, sometimes at even 5 a.m. They grab coffee and wait outside in the cold, hoping to snag special promotions and steep discounts. This year, however, new trends may spell the beginning of the end to the spectacle known as Black Friday. Retailers are offering deals way in advance, and more companies are using their websites to offer bargain-basement deals—a bonus for those seeking to avoid the crowds. "Last year Macy's made their best deals available days before Thanksgiving and so did Best Buy.
Black Friday deals oftentimes involve very limited quantities, Widlitz added. "I surveyed people last year who waited in line for a promotion. There were only 100 available and these people were No. 130 in line." Not only were these shoppers disappointed, they failed to realize some Black Friday deals are really intended to grab your attention. Unless you're willing to wait on long lines, it's unlikely you'll actually get the item at the price.
All told, the takeaway for shoppers is fairly simple. Many retailers make their best deals available long before Black Friday, so the best bargains can be found well in advance. Businesses have the opportunity benefit greatly off of black Fridays in so many ways. This article is about one of the ways. Offering sales days earlier than black Friday gives businesses even longer days to keep demand high for their products. Even when people can't get the items that they really want on Black Friday, they still spend money and buy other items just because they feel the need to spend. Ultimately, products being sold early at a cheap price will create more days of people going crazy for sales and businesses being able to sale more products than just one day of "Black Friday." However, more consumers will be disappointed when they don't get the items they hoped for but with items being sold earlier they will have more opportunities if they recognize that they have to shop days before Black Friday.
It appears that Black Friday has been starting earlier and earlier with each passing year. Many opponents of this have begun petitions, asking for early-opening retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Target to push back their sales. Their primary complaint is that the holidays have become too commercialized. I would argue that stores have every right to open early if the consumer demand is there. It is important to remember that Black Friday is an imperative event for the retail industry and that a strong holiday retail season will help create jobs and lower unemployment.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. Over the past few years Black Friday has expanded with 12am openings, Thanksgiving day deals and now pre-Thanksgiving deals. Businesses are in such fierce competition for consumers that they are trying to find any way they can to get the the upper hand.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know which retailers are offering specials before Black Friday. Macy's and Best Buy are big names so there are mostly likely other ones too. The demand for goods always increases at this time of year, which will lower prices. However, the special sales before hand may lower demand if it becomes public knowledge. If retailers want to start sales before Black Friday they should be able to.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that they companies just won't have their best deals saved for Black Friday, but as well as before that day too. Black Friday can get crazy, and maybe their intention behind having the days before Thanksgiving with good deals could be to lessen the amount of people that actually come on Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteI've seen multiple articles about how Black Friday has evolved in recent years. Black Friday used to mean waking up in the early hours of the morning and standing in long lines to get good deals on items. In the past couple of years, stores have been offering deals online well before Thanksgiving. Most stores and shopping malls also open in the evening on Thanksgiving instead of early Black Friday morning. While I don't necessarily agree with many store's decisions to open on Thanksgiving, I'm sure the extended amount of time for customers to shop Black Friday deals does increase sales in combination with online deals.
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