Auto dealers have gotten in on the game and are offering “Black Friday” discounts.
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Last year Black friday and Thanksgiving sales were disappointing, forcing retailers to double down on discounts which led to a last-minute shopping frenzy.
Black Friday sales were up, but how high were they?
Business is still booming for many online retailers as initial Black Friday sales reports show that more and more people are choosing to use their mobile devices to shop.
Shoppers spent more than $1 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, 22% more than previous year.
TheStreet also observed solid traffic during several visits to Apple stores on Long Island, New York on the evening of Black Friday, a key shopping time as people head out after work in search of deals. The National Retail Federation, a trade group, expects retail sales online and in stores in November and December to rise at a rate of 3.7 percent, to $630 billion – slightly less than last year’s 4.1 percent gain.
There are hundreds of other Cyber Monday turntable deals available in the home audio section of the Cyber Monday Deals Week page so shoppers will have no trouble finding the turntable they are looking for at the price they want to pay.
Gift cards don’t have to be costly, but people will spend more on gift cards for the holidays than they would ordinarily, Gaffney said.
Many customers, however, began their shopping on Thursday, believing they could get the best deal by starting early.
MasterCard Advisors will publish its report of Black Friday sales next week.
Jeff Simpson, a principal at Deloitte, also said doorbusters – fat discounts on hot items that once drew shoppers in for store openings – are losing their “umph”.
Brick-and-mortar stores saw less action.
Average savings on this day were 36% from retailers – compared to 33% on Black Friday and 24% on Boxing Day.
And you can’t forget about those brawling shoppers.
Retailers will not only slash prices but also offer free or expedited shipping and, in some cases, “cash awards” or other discounts for purchases made during the rest of the holiday season, Berry said.
“They got watered down”, he said.
The data does not capture purchases made through mobile phones, which IBM estimates will account for more than 40 percent of the online traffic and about 20 percent of sales this Thanksgiving weekend.
Years past, Thanksgiving has always been a holiday to eat, relax and enjoy family and most businesses, except the bare essentials were closed.
Shoppers at the Mall of Abilene waited over 2 hours in line Thursday for JC Penney to open their doors for earlier Black Friday shopping.
“This year, we saw Black Friday ads emerge before Halloween, as retailers aimed to get at the shopper’s wallet early”, said Kevin Kearns, ShopperTrak chief revenue officer.
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Everyone’s going to be swarming over the biggest retail sites on Monday, but you don’t necessarily have to join them in your search for a brilliant bargain.
