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Black Friday deals are even bigger in drab economy
Published: November 27, 2009
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share thisThis Black Friday, the deals will be bigger, discounts greater, markdowns more severe.
The drab economy, double-digit unemployment and tight consumer credit are forcing retailers to do just about anything to get shoppers into stores.
That means a boon for buyers seeking discounted electronics and inexpensive toys and gifts.
Black Friday will be marked by the conventional crowds, but look for fewer bags, said Howard Davidowitz, of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., a New York City-based retail consultant who anticipates shoppers will exercise an unprecedented restraint in shopping.
"This holiday shopping season, if the deal isn't there, the customer will walk away," he said, adding that a great many shoppers will be hitting stores with "Dollar" in their names: Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree.
Big this season are flat-screen TVs, the average price of which has been dropping for two years. They will plunge this season. A 32-inch television will run $246 at Target. Even pharmacies CVS and Walgreens are offering 15-inch TVs for $100.
Smaller consumer electronics - digital camera and GPS navigators - can be had at several stores for well under $100, with GPS systems going as low as $50.
Toys are cheaper. The Razor Ripster, a modified skateboard, will be highly featured for as low as $35 at Kmart. The under-$10 Zhu Zhu Hamsters, the year's hottest toys, will be absent from Black Friday shelves as inventories for the popular toy have been exhausted, but they are expected to scurry their way into the stores next week. Toys R Us is handing out vouchers for the battery-powered rodents.
Dickson City JCPenney store manager Emily Solomon said her store is focusing on delivering value. Customers can expect bigger markdowns and lower-priced gift items featured very prominently.
"We are very price-driven," she said. "Everyone is trying to stretch their dollars, and we want to help them do that."
While other retailers have tried to spread out the Black Friday frenzy to the entire week, Solomon said the day after Thanksgiving remains a central event for J.C. Penney's and its customers.
"Black Friday is still an event," she said.
That said, stores will be looking to hook Black Friday shoppers for return visits. J.C. Penney's is giving out Disney snow globes with a $10 coupon off a $50 purchase made the next day.
Even online retailers are hoping to make a bigger splash. QVC and Amazon.com are launching special sales on the day after Thanksgiving.
Black Friday earned its name for being the day of the year when retailers would find themselves in the black.
This year, Black Friday has a greater importance to stores, Davidowitz said. With the economic shifts and the new misgivings of consumers, stores will be spending Black Saturday trying to figure out what worked, he said.
"Retailers will learn from that day how to best position themselves in a new marketplace," he said. "The weakness of the consumer has put them into a new world that they are trying to figure it out."
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