During this year’s Black Friday, you could be excused for thinking we’re no longer being affected by the recession. The yearly post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy has been dampened in recent seasons due to economic downturn, but due to irresistible prices and some shrewd tactics on the part of some retail chains, this Black Friday could end up being the busiest in recent memory.
The Mall of America, for example, reported more customers this year. Some chains, such as Best Buy, Sears, Macy’s and Toys R Us had earlier opening times, or limited 24-hour access. The majority of purchases were toys and TVs, but luxury items such as jewelry and high-end footwear and clothing were on lists as well.
Deals were in full force – Wal-Mart (which had stores open 24 hours starting on Thanksgiving), stocked a 32 inch HDTV for $198, and toys such as Barbie dolls for $10, and Zhu Zhu Pets for $4. Old Navy, Toys R Us and Sears were all open on Thanksgiving, hoping to get some more shoppers this year. Toys R Us was open for 24 hours, starting at 10pm on Thanksgiving, offering shoppers the chance to stay up a little later for deals, rather than waking up before dawn to stand in line.
Gadgets were another draw: Best Buy was running holiday ads 11 days earlier this year than last, offering a large selection of DVDs on sale for $3.99 each and $30 off the Nintendo Wii console to pull customers into stores. Best Buy wasn’t keeping overnight hours, but many stores reported consumers in tents in the parking lot, to ensure the best picks when the stores opened.
A strong Black Friday is typically a bellwether for the holiday shopping season to come. Named for the opportunity to put retailers “in the black”, or into yearly profitability, it’s understandably a tense time for storeowners. But if this year is any indication, 2010’s holiday season is looking a little brighter. Research firm ShopperTrak is expected to release data from this year’s results on Saturday, and the full picture for the weekend overall will be known on December 2nd, when retailers report sales for November.
Not to be discounted, however, is the newer tradition of Cyber Monday, which is when online retailers post similar types of deals, with many stores offering free shipping . Black Friday isn’t typically as profitable for online stores as Cyber Monday, but this year some decent profits were posted. eBags, for example, reported sales at 69.5% above Black Friday 2009.
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