Black Friday is one of, if not the most, important day of the year for retailers in the U.S. So what are merchants doing to gear up for holiday sales?
Starting early.
Many retailers of both the physical and online variety are starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving, targeting a post-meal crowd willing to do digest as they shop. Others are beginning even earlier, running weeklong promotions in order to attract the proverbial early bird. And many are bridging Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, hoping to turn the entire weekend into a sale-crazy event.
Internet Retailer has compiled a list of plans for some of the U.S.’ biggest retailers, and the various strategies, deals and timeframes offer an interesting look as to what the next few days should hold.
Walmart plans on beginning its Black Friday sales at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, and is expecting some sale items to sell out by 11 p.m. that same night.
The retail giant is also offering exclusive online deals early on Thanksgiving through Black Friday, and has been offering customers a sneak peak at some Black Friday deals all week long.
Target and Toys “R” Us are planning on opening on Thanksgiving night as well, and eBay has the most interesting sales start time of all: 5:23 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Why such a seemingly arbitrating start point? Because according to a survey eBay conducted, that’s the time most people finish their Thanksgiving meals.
Kohls and Macys, two clothing outlets with significantphysical and online presences, are both opening their stores at midnight onBlack Friday. Kohls offered an “Early Bird” special on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as well.
But perhaps no merchant has emphasized Black Friday quite like Amazon, Internet Retailer’s top company, which as run a “Black Friday Deals Week” campaign offering daily deals, discounts and limited-timepromotions in the days running up to Nov. 23.
To read about more merchants and retailers and how they’re handling Black Friday, read Internet Retailer’s full report here.
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