7 survival tips for Black Friday
The chain’s new boss John Rogers said he “can’t rule out price increases” as the group faces the prospect of surging costs from the plunging pound “in the coming weeks and months”. Technology is changing consumer habits.
But price matching probably won’t be there to bail you out of bad deals this Black Friday. “You always want to do that one more thing”.
A handful of popular stores will not open their doors for business on the Thanksgiving holiday.
ShopperTrak, which tracks retail trends, expects Black Friday to be the busiest shopping day of the season.
With competition fierce, retailers are starting to match the deals being offered by their rivals. And it is also making the day itself less and less important for the industry overall.
That said, families that decide to step outside this holiday better take note of what’s open and what’s closed, from the stores, banks and post office to retailers such as Target, Walmart and Best Buy.
The general manager of an Oklahoma City-area Target also predicted a busy time on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.
Conlumino, a retail research agency and consulting firm based in NY, said that despite lower prices easing pressures on household finances and stronger consumer optimism, Black Friday sales are expected to be sluggish as consumers lose interest. Often the retailer has already done the work to match the lowest price out there.When I shop in-store, I pull up the browser on my smartphone, type in the product details and see what other retailers are offering, both in-store and online. At the same time, “the deals are pretty much the same as a year ago and really, how many big-screen TVs do we need?” “It’s overhyped and online shopping has stolen its thunder”, Yarrow says.
So retailers will watch how much Americans spend, but also, where they spend it, department stores, or discounters?
Gonzales says some online retailers like Amazon are only offering 25% off, even though they advertise their Black Friday deals. More Australian retailers (and Australian branches of worldwide stores) than predicted are participating in the Black Friday sales.
Nonetheless, Target and Wal-Mart stores will open on Thanksgiving at 6 PM.
It is certainly true that Black Friday is no longer the seasonal center of gravity it once was. Overall, dollar stores will experience one of the biggest rises in turnout this year over last year, according to a survey of more than 2,000 adults by the data company Nielsen.
“Huge this year is the Phillips 55 inch 4K TV”, Anderson said. All stores will open at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, and doorbuster sales will be available online on Thanksgiving and in stores and online until 1 p.m.
If coupons are your go-to discount method, think again on Black Friday.
For example, Camelcamelcamel.com shows the price history of Amazon products – allowing shoppers to see if they have been offered more cheaply in the past.