But Black Friday has its fair share of dangers when it comes to shopping in stores, such as getting hurt.
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In the past, Wal-Mart staged multiple door-buster or deal events staggered at different times during Thanksgiving evening, as a way of keeping shoppers in its stores longer.
Outdoor specialty chain REI recently announced it would be closed on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, what’s known as one of the biggest shopping days of the year in the United States.
If you have a particular favourite shop, make sure you check their website and social media feeds regularly, as increasingly this is where they will release details of their sales. The term “Black Friday” is now code for a great value or deep discount. Opening on Thanksgiving has not given retailers the results they were hoping for but has given them a brand and image headache.
But it seems the creep has stalled, at least somewhat this year. Many stores are opening the same time they did last year, not earlier, as was the trend in previous years.
JcPenneyJcPenney opens at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
Open: 6 P.M., November 26th, Thanksgiving Day through 9 P.M., Nov. 27th, Black Friday.
Here are the latest Black Friday ads to be released, along with Thanksgiving/Black Friday hours and other deals that are available early or online.
But not all retailers are rushing to open on Thanksgiving Day.
As competitors from Macy’s to Target one by one lifted the lid on their Black Friday strategies, Wal-Mart over the past few weeks had remained uncharacteristically quiet. The store will be open during regular store hours but will close on Thanksgiving Day, The Verge reported. With about 75 percent of the walmart.com traffic this holiday season expected to come from mobile devices, Walmart has updated its app with ratings, reviews, buying guides, and tutorials, as well maps that show the locations of hot products in your local store.
Just like past year, Best Buy will open its doors to shoppers a day early for Black Friday.
The online retailer launched the Black Friday Deals store on November 2 to house “tens of thousands of deals” on a wide variety of products, including electronics, toys and clothing. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly half of holiday shopping is online. Holiday season shopping makes up 19 percent of all annual retail related sales for the year.
Greg Foran, head of Wal-Mart’s USA operations, said he was comfortable with the retailer’s inventory levels. The shopping experience at these retailers isn’t particularly differentiated and they have much to defend. This year, the company has announced it will pay employees on Black Friday not to work with customers, but to get outside to play. In the leaked ads, it was said that major deals for LED HDTV were in store for shoppers.
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Walmart intends to open its stores at the same time like they did in 2014. Bottom line, if consumers have the heart for it, the deals are there!
