“Black Friday isn’t what it used to be”, said Keith Nelson, 54, who works in security in the Brooklyn and was third in line after arriving about 2:15. And forget the fisticuffs over flat-screen TVs.
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Overall, there seemed to be smaller crowds throughout stores and malls across the country.
Jeff Simpson, the director of the retail practice at Deloitte, reasoned the drop in retail sales on Black Friday was due to the fact that retailers “have taken the sense of urgency out for consumers by spreading their promotions throughout the year and what we are seeing is a result of that”. And not every shopper was happy about that.
Nonetheless, there were still shoppers looking for holiday specials on Friday morning. She half-heartedly flipped through a rack of girls’ holiday party dresses and looked down the store’s empty aisles.
Though those that said they were awaiting Thanksgiving deals was up four percent. Even so, retailers have gotten in the habit of porting over in-store deals online, making it that much easier to get your shopping done.
As Black Friday’s long lines will attest, many shoppers who started early returned to the stores for Black Friday bargains.
On Black Friday, there are legitimately great deals, but there are also a lot of awful deals.
Best Buy – Opens 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving through 1 a.m. on Black Friday.
The Perfume Shop is traditionally busy at Christmas, and senior sales assistant Sophie Hooper said they were also ready for the Black Friday rush.
Representatives from the National Retail Federation say this year, retailers are hoping holiday sales go up to 3.7%. “The frenzy and traffic levels were subdued”, said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy. Cyber Monday is the day retailers offer discounts, sometimes deep, for a large amount of their stock. Because of that, some shoppers weren’t excited about discounts on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Sitting in the warmth of her daughter’s SUV waiting for Wal-Mart to open, the resident of Pleasanton, California said she thinks the excitement has fizzled with stores opening on Thanksgiving.
Top items companywide included tablet computers, video game consoles, televisions and a $10, three-foot stuffed teddy bear. Meanwhile, she said apparel is seen as the biggest victor.
Norcup misses the challenge of strategizing to score deals.
The Metropolitan Police advised Black Friday customers to use a different password for each online retailer they visit after a man was arrested on Thursday for trying to breach Tesco’s online system using usernames and passwords obtained from previous hacks.
Frustrated shoppers complained about the Argos website, with one saying on Twitter: “10 min queue online, then it told me 8 days for delivery with no option for 24 hour, and then it crashed”.
Quinlan added that consumers won’t just spend money this holiday season on physical goods, they’re also increasingly likely to spend on experiences like travel and dining out – and it’s all thanks to an economy that continues to improve.
Like many, Herring has taken advantage of online shopping in recent years.
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“There is shopper and retailer fatigue”. While the simple solution might be to just buy the loss leader item and leave, that rarely happens.
