For those of you who have been reading my series on what I call "Black Friday Madness" today, we'll end the series by my asking of the nuts-n-bolts question of the hour -- which retailers do you plan to visit this Friday?The answers from many millions of shoppers -- if not the majority of them -- will probably be "whoever has the best prices". That's a completely valid reason, I might add. The price-savviest consumers will be perched on a schedule and strategy that places product pricing above all else, retailer be forgotten.
But, based on where the bulk of your holiday shopping may be, there are some who will prefer to be at one retailer first before all else. Most national retailers will open early this Friday -- many at 5am -- to let the hordes of patiently waiting consumers into stores to rid the shelves and back rooms of any bargain that is available.
Yet others will show up at their favorite retailer to get the bargains from a preferred shopping partner rather than going where the absolute lowest-prices products can be found. Where will you be very early Friday morning, and what's at the top of your shopping list? Be careful out there and keep a level head this Friday -- don't let the triptophan mess you up from the day before -- ok?
Happy hunting, pecking, grabbing and swiping.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-22-2006 @ 6:18PM
barbara said...
Although I've combed over the ads each Thanksgiving night, the past few years I've found nothing of interest to buy. That works out well for me as I don't relish the idea of getting up at 4:00AM on a day off just to get to a store.
11-23-2006 @ 7:51AM
Michael Schneider said...
Black Friday is overrated as there are other more important sales days for retailers but it is the forst big day. This year Black Friday may loom as more important and be watched more carefully by investors since October and November got off to a slow starts. Investors can find Dana telsey;s latest retail comments about this coming season at Barrelomoney.com. She already made our Who Got What Right Good Call list from that interview for picking J Crew just before the company reported good earnings last week and the stock rallied.
11-28-2006 @ 5:43PM
Ellie Oxnard said...
Ah, Black Friday Madness. Please explain to me why is it better for retailers to foster this madness, then say, spread the sales out all year. It seems to me that they could spread product costs and employment costs out all year, having higher yearly sales and employing more people instead of constantly hiring and laying off people around the holidays. I am clearly not an economic guru, so I have no idea how this change would effect manufacturers and the overall economy, but this season shopping holiday seems idiotic and overly stressful. Companies spend billions to overload their stores with product just to mark it down to stunningly ridiculous prices before it ever hits the sales floor and even lower prices after it's left languishing in stock rooms after the holiday ends.
11-24-2006 @ 3:27AM
Lox said...
Black Friday sales this year don't look very promising. It's just a bag of cheap tricks. Several items I had been tracking have actually been marked up significantly even after the big bold claims of "Lowest prices this year! Save $$$$!" And most of the really good "deals" come only after huge rebates ladened with commitments/conditions. If retailers fall flat on their faces and their shares plunge, they only have themselves to blame. Doesn't bother me much, since I'm not a big investor in the retail sector. But the bigger picture that worries me is that it'll shake investor confidence and drag the rest of us down. Why retailers think they can pull the wool over savvy consumers' eyes is beyond me.