Despite the many bargains in the previous weeks, Black Friday continues to star in the sales season in the US and other countries, where it is still seen as the start of shopping during the Christmas season.
After weeks of announcing increasingly attractive discounts, retailers in the United States and other countries are preparing for the big moment: Black Friday, the bargain bonanza that continues to reign as the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, even if it has lost something of brightness.
Department stores, malls and merchants — large and small — see the day after Thanksgiving as a way to encourage consumers and get them into brick-and-mortar stores at a time when many gift-hunters prefer to do so online. There are enough supporters of the tradition that Black Friday continues to be the busiest day of the year in stores.
“I'm excited,” said Emily Phillips, who lives in Texas, while visiting the Galleria Dallas last week. “I save up everything I want throughout the year and usually try to buy it around Black Friday. I prefer to buy in person because then I can try things. “It’s a better experience.”
In the United States, analysts are predicting a strong holiday shopping season, although perhaps not as robust as last year, as many consumers are under financial pressure and cautious about their spending despite moderating inflation.
Retailers will be even more pressured to get customers to buy early and in bulk, since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, is offering the first 200 people in line at the center's north entrance a $25 gift card. Target is offering an exclusive book dedicated to Taylor Swift's Eras tour and a special edition of her album “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” that will only be available in stores on Black Friday before customers can purchase them online starting on Saturday.
Best Buy has introduced an extended version of what is known as a doorbuster: limited-time daily discounts, which for years were a sensation — and sometimes the spark for real fights — before the coronavirus pandemic. The country's largest electronics entertainment chain has launched doorbuster deals on its app, online and in stores every Friday since Nov. 8 and plans to continue the weekly promotion through Dec. 20.
“(Stores) really want Black Friday to go well,” said Marshal Cohen, senior retail advisor at market research firm Circana. “They recognize that they are not going to break out and make a big splash online because the competition has become so close. “They have to find a way to win in stores.”
Impulse purchases and self-gifts are a potential area for big sales growth, and business won't grow without them, Cohen said. Consumers are three times more likely to make impulse purchases in a physical store than online, according to Circana research.
Consumers increased their spending at U.S. retailers in October, the Commerce Department said. Although sales at auto dealerships drove much of the gain, electronics and appliance stores, and bars and restaurants also saw increases in purchases, a sign of healthy consumer spending.
The latest quarterly results from Best Buy, Target and other retailers, however, underscored that some will have an easier time getting customers to spend their money than others.
Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, is heading into the holidays with strong momentum after posting better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter sales for toys, home goods and groceries. But Target reported sluggish quarterly sales as cautious consumers reduced their spending on clothing and other non-essential items.
Many retailers pushed Christmas sales earlier in October than last year to help shoppers spread their spending.
Shoppers were distracted by theThis month's presidential elections in the United States. General merchandise sales fell 9% in the two weeks ending Nov. 9, according to Circana, but have been recovering since the election.
The National Retail Federation predicted that shoppers would increase their spending in November and December by 2.5% to 3.5% from the same period last year. During the 2023 holiday shopping season, spending increased 3.9% compared to 2022.
So far this holiday season, online sales have exceeded expectations, according to Adobe Digital Insights, a division of software company Adobe. U.S. consumers spent $77.4 billion online between Nov. 1 and Nov. 24, up 9.6% from the same period a year earlier. Adobe predicted an 8.4% increase for the entire season.
Despite the early sales, better deals are yet to come with Black Friday, according to Adobe. Analysts consider the five-day Black Friday weekend, which includes Cyber Monday, a key barometer of shoppers' willingness to spend for the rest of the season.
Vivek Pandya, the principal analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said shoppers are paying more attention to discounts than last year, and their focus on bargain hunting will drive what sells and when.
For example, Thanksgiving is the best time to shop online for the biggest discounts on sporting goods, toys, furniture and appliances, according to Adobe analysis. But Black Friday is the best time to buy TVs online. People who bought TVs earlier in the season found discounts averaging 10.8%, while waiting until this Friday is expected to yield discounts of 24%, Adobe Digital Insights said.
However, Cyber Monday is expected to be the best time to buy clothes and gadgets such as phones and computers online. Discounts on electronics peaked at 10.9% off the manufacturer's suggested price between Nov. 1 and Nov. 24, but are expected to hit 30% on Cyber Monday, Adobe said.
Generally, Black Friday weekend discounts are expected to peak at 30% on Cyber Monday and then drop to around 15%, according to Adobe research.
For brick-and-mortar stores, the day after Thanksgiving is set to again mark the busiest shopping day of the season, according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions, which tracks retail foot traffic.
“Black Friday continues to be an incredibly important day for retailers,” said Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic. “It's important for them to be able to bring shoppers into their stores to show them that experience of what it's like to browse and touch and feel the items. It may also be an indicator to retailers of what to expect for the rest of the holiday season.”
Mall of America expects to surpass the 12,000 shoppers it recorded last year within the first hour of its opening at 7 a.m.
“People come to get the deals, but more importantly, they come for the excitement, the energy, the traditions that surround Black Friday,” said Jill Renslow, the mall's director of business development and marketing.