Black Friday gloom
By Donna Kato
Mercury News
Posted: 11/25/2008 07:00:00 PM PST
Is Black Friday important?
The day after Thanksgiving has traditionally been considered the first day of the biggest shopping season of the year for retailers (零售商). It's the day when store ledger (分类帐) books traditionally go from red to black, showing a profit.
But this year, with the economy tanking, and consumers and retailers bracing for a bleak ( 黯淡的) holiday season, stores already started desperately slashing (削减) prices weeks ago. Everywhere, it seems, huge sales have been going nonstop, stealing some of the thunder from Black Friday.
"We haven't seen Black Friday save the holiday retail season for years, nor does it serve as an indicator of sales for the holiday shopping season,'' said Mike Kraus, retail expert for Allbusiness.com, an online source for business advice and solutions.
"Since retailers have now made holiday shopping a two-month-long event, through discounts, door busters (广告商品) and other promotional programs, Black Friday is pretty much moot (没有实际重要性的).''
With steep unemployment rates, the crashing stock market and homeowners' equity (财产价值) being wiped out, it's an especially tough holiday season for retailers, said Jim Peko, who specializes in working with troubled, underperforming and bankrupt entities for Grant Thornton, a provider of accounting and financial services.
"Retailers don't want to be in a situation of having too much inventory (存货) at the end of the buying season.''
While Black Friday's importance has been diminished (减少) by the big discounting that's already happened, die-hard shoppers are convinced that in order to grab door buster deals, they must head out right after their Turkey Day pumpkin pie.
"Shoppers are so conditioned for discounts that they hold out for Black Friday,'' said Ellen Davis, vice president of the National Retail Federation.
Yes, some retailers at malls like the Gilroy Premium Outlets will open their doors at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, followed by many others slated (安排) to open at midnight Thursday, with offers good for the first hour or on a first-come-first-served basis. That means the most serious Black Friday shoppers must be in line well before doors fling (猛冲，猛扑) open.
Other experts believe most retailers are holding some of their most desired merchandise (商品) for Black Friday, which is not, as many believe, the day when merchants record the highest sales. That's usually the last Saturday before Christmas.
"There's no doubt Black Friday will still be huge,'' said Vikram Sharma of Shoplocal.com, a Web site where shoppers can view circular ads that usually appear in local newspapers. "Traditionally, retailers keep some of their specials a secret, but not this year,'' Sharma said of those stores hoping to better compete for the thundering predawn hopping herds.
Alert consumers already know, for instance, that Wal-Mart door busters will include a Polaroid 42'' Class Full-HD 1080p LCD HDTV for $598, and the Guitar Hero III & Guitar Hero Aerosmith 2-Pack video games for the Nintendo Wii are going for $50. Toys R Us is offering Hannah Montana's In-Concert Pop Stage for $24.99, while Best Buy has an HP G50-104NR Laptop with Canon 3-in-1 printer for $349.98, available only in stores.
But will they bite?
"All the pushing and shoving and the huge crowds, that's not for me,'' Linh Nguyen said of Black Friday's bargain hunting mayhem. The San Jose mother of three was shopping for herself and a daughter at Nordstrom at Valley Fair on Tuesday, where sales racks were packed with fall and winter apparel (服装) and designer markdowns (削价).
Shoppers like Nguyen, however, might be better suited for online deals, and Web retailers are hoping to get in on the Black Friday fever before Cyber Monday, the Monday following Black Friday that kicks off the holiday online shopping season.
On Thanksgiving morning, some of the biggest retailers, including Toys R Us and Best Buy, will be starting their online Black Friday sales as early as 1 a.m. Eastern time. They're not door busters, though the sales are predicted to feature deep enough discounts to entice consumers to hit the buy button.
At Ann Taylor, Black Friday store customers will receive 20 percent off all purchases before noon, while online shoppers will save $30 for every $100 purchase (or 30 percent off) plus free shipping on orders of $70 or more.
A survey released Monday by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, said 83.7 percent of retailers will have special promotions on Cyber Monday, up from 72.2 percent a year ago.
American Express's MyWishList (mywishlist.com/amexnetwork), which will appear online from Cyber Monday, Dec. 1, to Dec. 18, pairs its premium card members with merchants via a specialized marketplace of sorts that is price competitive and unique enough to distinguish itself from the Cyber Monday pack.
"We give dramatic discounts with a limited inventory,'' said Luke Gebb, vice president of global network marketing for American Express. The online offerings this year include the Google phone, Nintendo's Wii, a 2010 Mercedes GLK350 and a personal style consultation with "Project Runway" judge/Elle magazine editor Nina Garcia.