Black Friday bargains lure US shoppers
Discounts drive traffic on key day for sales
November 29 2003
US retailers relied on heavy discounts to attract shoppers on Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season.
Retailers including Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us and Best buy opened at 6am with limited-time special offers designed to kick-start sales on the day that US retailers traditionally go into the black and start making their profits for the year.
Early-bird deals included a 20-inch flat screen TV at Wal-Mart for $99 and a DVD player at Best Buy for $19.99. Prices went up at 11am.
Despite hopes that the US economy is improving and consumer confidence, low all year, is on the rise in the run-up to the key sales season, it was deep discounts on products such as home electronics, toys, homeware and clothes that were the biggest draw. However, retailers are hopeful that once shoppers move back into spending mode, the impetus will continue.
National Retail Federation president Tracy Mullin said: “Retailers use the weekend after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season and show consumers what they have to offer. Stores have been full of shoppers because the promotions and sales are too good for value-conscious consumers to pass up.
“This holiday season compared to last year is a tale of two economies. This year, the economy is bouncing back and we expect this solid sales environment to continue throughout the rest of the year.”
Last year, US Thanksgiving weekend sales were strong, but demand fell off and the holiday season generated the lowest sales growth in more than 30 years. While analysts are predicting a 5 to 7 per cent increase in holiday sales, retailers have been more cautious.
Wal-Mart is forecasting that its US like-for-like sales growth in the fourth quarter will be between 3 and 5 per cent. Rival Target said this month that it was unlikely to meet fourth-quarter profit forecasts.
The NRF is forecasting an overall increase of 5.7 per cent in US holiday sales this year, which would generate sales of around $217.4bn. The trade group’s regular consumer survey is projecting that shoppers will spend an average of $670 each this year on holiday gifts, decorations, cards, candy, and food, up from $649 last year.
