U.S. retailers push deals early as Black
Friday loses focus
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[November 23, 2016]
By Nandita Bose
CHICAGO (Reuters) - With sales on Black
Friday slipping, U.S. retailers are offering pre-Thanksgiving deals even
earlier than in recent years to draw shoppers as the day after no longer
marks a spending peak at brick-and-mortar chains.
Black Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is called, has traditionally
started the holiday shopping season in the United States and was the day
when retailers turned a profit, thus going from “being in the red” to
“in the black.”
Many retailers have started opening their stores on Thanksgiving evening
to boost customer traffic and sales.
But the number of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers fell by nearly a third
to 102 million in 2015, from 147 million in 2012, according to the
National Retail Federation. Moreover, early holiday promotions and
online shopping hurt in-store spending by more than 6 percent last year,
it said.
U.S. retailers, however, have redoubled efforts this year to boost sales
with familiar tactics but greater intensity. Wal-Mart <WMT.N> has
already said it will increase inventory by more than half this year and
make deals typically reserved for Black Friday available online early
Thanksgiving morning.
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Retail pricing and data analytics firm Market Track said an analysis of
15 top U.S. brick-and-mortar retailers and their Black Friday circular
announcements online showed they were about three days earlier than last
year.
"They are all trying to beat each other to the punch and starting their
promotions earlier and earlier every year," said Traci Gregorski, senior
vice president, marketing at Market Track.
Last year, discounts on popular products deepened by 30 to 40 percent
from Black Friday prices as Christmas got closer, according to Market
Track data.
Mark Cohen, a professor at Columbia Business School and the former chief
executive of Sears Canada <SCC.TO>, said the urgency related to Black
Friday has greatly diminished.
"Consumers know great deals and discounts are available throughout the
year, and prices during the holiday season will only get better if they
wait," he said.
Deals have been available for several days already on websites of
retailers like Target Corp <TGT.N>, Macy's Inc <M.N>, Kohl's Corp
<KSS.N>, Home Depot Stores Inc <HD.N> and Lowe's Cos Inc <LOW.N>.
E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> joined with a first of its kind
month-long Black Friday promotion.
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![](../images/112316pics/news_p27.jpg)
Shoppers take part in Black Friday Shopping at a Target store in
Chicago, Illinois, United States, November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jim
Young
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Some brands are getting in on the action by offering steep discounts
that reduce the appeal of waiting for Black Friday. Handbag maker
Kate Spade <KATE.N> is already offering 75 percent off some items,
and off-price chain Saks Off Fifth has similar discounts on some
clothing and shoes.
EXPANDING SEASON
"The holiday season is expanding, and Black Friday is no longer the
kickoff for the season," said Natalie Kotlyar, who heads retail and
consumer products at business advisory firm BDO Consumer, adding
many start holiday shopping at Halloween, Labor Day or even Amazon's
Prime Day on July 12.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,639 adults online showed 63 percent did
not plan to shop on Black Friday this year. Some 32 percent said
they plan to finish about half of their holiday shopping on that
day.
The year-end shopping season spanning November and December is
crucial for retailers because it can account for up to 40 percent of
their annual sales. The NRF, which has been overly optimistic at
times in the past with its sales projections, expects holiday sales
to grow 3.6 percent this year to $655.8 billion.
For Black Friday alone, about 70 percent of retailers expect sales
to remain flat this year, according to telephone interviews with
chief marketing officers at 100 U.S. retail firms, BDO Consumer
said.
Nevertheless, big bricks-and-mortar players like Target and Wal-Mart
will still open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago, Editing by Jo Winterbottom
and Cynthia Osterman)
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