The Earliest of Early Black Friday Deals

With the holiday season quickly approaching, the month of November could be a huge boost for the retail industry.  According to surveys from NPD Group, Americans have become less prone to that dreadful “last minute” holiday shopping and are expected to begin shopping in the middle of the season, particularly Thanksgiving weekend.  These recent findings have led to a strategic shift in how retail stores will operate Black Friday deals this November. 

One store on the forefront of these changes is Target, which will be promoting the most Black Friday deals made before Thanksgiving than ever before.  For example, Target will be offering its credit card users more than 100 deals on its website the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  In addition, Target will be releasing deals to specific store locations, such as in Minneapolis, where Target will be offering price bundles on beauty products:  buy one item, get one at 50% off. 

There are a multitude of retail stores following in Target’s footsteps, including store chains Kohl’s, Sears, and Walmart.  Kohl’s will not only be offering in-store deals on Cyber Monday, but Black Friday promotions have already begun, and Kohl’s will be issuing more ways than ever before for shoppers to earn “Kohl’s Cash.”  Sears will be taking drastic measures to attract shoppers to its department stores, going as far as promising discounts ranging from 10% to 50% on all items beginning long before the Black Friday festivities.  Walmart will be holding more than 20,000 parties at its stores over the next two months to emphasize the “in-store experience.” 

Retailers will be relying heavily on these discounts to draw in consumers to the stores this holiday season.  One concern related to these additional Black Friday deals, however, will be whether or not retailers will cut prices too much. With an already struggling industry, these U.S. retail stores cannot afford to endure additional expenses; but if these new strategies drive shoppers to the store, then it could pay off.  It is a risk that retailers must take in order to stay competitive in the industry and potentially see big profits to round out the 2017 year.  To learn more about our retail services, contact us.