Sears Announces That It Is Pushing Out Some "Black Friday" Deals a Month Early

Many retailers are extremely worried about the upcoming holiday shopping season (as they should be), and some are already taking extreme measures to try and salvage the year.

Case in point - Sears announced last week that they will be "pushing Black Friday into October" by offering "Black Friday doorbuster" deals as early as this Friday.

Many market observers contend that this is a desperate move on the part of Sears, and that the retailer will have a very tough time competing against the likes of Wal-Mart and Amazon this holiday season.

The reason for the move? Representatives from Sears say that shoppers don't want to wait until Thanksgiving for deep-discount deals - they want them now.

"Black Friday" refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving - this day "officially" marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The day is called "Black Friday" because this is thought to be when most retailers turn profitable for the year, due to the surge of holiday shopping.

Retailers are facing a staggering array of problems this year, including:

1. Many retailers have been axing prices all year in order to inspire interest from consumers, meaning that even larger price decreases will be necessary to lure consumers into their stores.

2. Many consumers have already announced plans to trim their holiday expenses this year. Source: Bah Humbug! 65% of Americans Planning To Cut Back on Holiday Expenses This Year

3. Many people are out of work, which translates into much less money in the pockets of the average American. This means that consumers will be looking to stretch their dollars even more this holiday season.

4. Consumers are growing increasingly comfortable with doing the bulk of their holiday shopping online, which will make it even harder for brick-and-mortar retailers to increase foot traffic this year. Many people are wondering why they should brave the holiday crowds when they can do all of their holiday shopping from the comfort of their own homes.

5. The mindset of the average consumer has changed. Consumers have largely transformed from unrestrained to fiscally responsible over the course of just two years.

6. Lack of credit/more expensive credit. With credit harder to come by / more expensive, many consumers will be less eager/able to whip out their plastic to pay for expensive purchases this year.

This holiday shopping should prove to be very lucrative for a chosen few (Amazon, Wal-Mart come to mind), and absolutely disastrous for many others.

Consumers, on the other hand, will continue to benefit as retailers scramble to cut prices.

Consumers with cash, that is.

Source: AP - Sears Tries to Push Black Friday into October


Filed under: General Knowledge