You’ll probably be at work…
Advertisement
If you want to see pure childhood delight, stop by Wisconsin’s only LEGO Store on Black Friday. All those factors point to a need for heavy discounting – good for consumers, but not so great for retailers’ profits.
For Katrina Spencer, her morning started at 4 a.m.at a Target in Torrance as she tried to seize all door-buster deals.
But there is analytical evidence that Black Friday is not doing much good for the retailers themselves.
Several other retailers bucked the trend and did not open on Thanksgiving, including Sam’s Club, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Barnes&Noble, PetSmart, and this year, Staples, which decided not to repeat last year’s Thanksgiving night opening. If you’re anxious about delivery delays, shops have made click-and-collect even easier this year. These devices actually come cheaper in this time of the year with the sticker price more solid when compared to Black Friday promos, the report said. Early numbers aren’t out yet on how many shoppers headed to stores on Thanksgiving, but it’s expected that more than three times the number of people will venture out to shop on the day after the holiday known as Black Friday.
More recently, a warm autumn has curtailed sales of seasonal merchandise, leaving stores with excess inventory.
Preliminary data from ShopperTrak showed sales at stores totaled about $12.1 billion on Thursday and Friday. Big discounts across the board meant that margins were slim – and this year the retailers are out to change that by picking their discounts carefully. Water Street Market in New Paltz was thriving with shoppers and brisk business well into Friday afternoon.
John Lewis’s website went down around 3.20pm and when one disgruntled customer called up to confirm an order lost online they were told the retailer was unable to take any orders and to call back in an hour.
The National Retail Federation, which uses a survey of 4,281 consumers conducted on Black Friday and Saturday to measure the weekend, reported Sunday that more than 151 million people shopped in stores or online over the weekend, up from its original forecast of 136 million people, and that they spent an average of $299.60.
ShopperTrak said sales may have declined from 2014.
The explanation is simple.
Black Friday is over. More than had been spent between midnight and 5 p.m. ET. Yui Mok/PA Wire People picking up 49inch TVs for £199 at the Kingston Park Tesco Extra in Newcastle during Black Friday.
He said the men on the video haven’t been identified and that neither has come forward to file a police report.
They included four moms from Clarion – all elementary teachers – in matching black sweatshirts emblazoned with “Black Friday Shopping Team” in glittery print.
Advertisement
The move is all the more unexpected since its parent company Walmart in the U.S. is at the forefront of Black Friday discounting.
