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How early is too early to wake up for the Black Friday holiday deals? That depends on how much you want to save.
A recent Gallup poll found that Americans are cutting back on the holiday budget, to an average of $616 for gifts this year. That’s a 29% drop from 2007 and a sign that consumers will be more selective when venturing out in the middle of the night to buy gifts.
With no “must-have” item making headlines this year, retailers are taking the traditional route and slashing prices on all merchandise, while at the same time limiting the number of hours those items will be available.
For the savvy consumer, Black Friday is not just about getting a bargain; it’s about meticulous planning to make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. This year, however, the “early-bird” specials are so early that you might just want to skip sleeping altogether.
Finish dinner, start shopping
Sure you can shop online for deals all day and night, but retailers also want to get you into the store to see the rest of their stockpile. The earlier the better, and this year Toys R Us gets the award for the earliest “early-bird” sale. Doors open at the stroke of midnight, whether employees like it or not!
The midnight opening promises the lowest prices of the year, and the toy retailer has been busy whetting customer appetites with a “Wednesday Half-Off Sale” that leads up to the main event.
Shoppers who aren’t planning an all-nighter to buy toys will still hit the sack early for “door-buster deals” around the valley. Stores like JC Penney and Kohl’s both plan to open at 4 a.m. Friday, a move that is likely aimed at stealing early business away from Wal-Mart. The retail giant actually posted a gain in the third quarter, and hopes to deal a death blow to competitors on Black Friday with a 5 a.m. opening and front-page ads for heavily discounted plasma TV’s and Blu-Ray disc players.
When the clock strikes six, another mass merchandise retailer, Target, will open its doors. The retailer has been busy promoting a “Two-Day Sale” that starts at 6 a.m. Friday. Shoppers who don’t want to wait for the ad in Thursday’s paper can find it online at the company’s Web site, while others have already been browsing through the Target deals and others for weeks on sites like BlackFriday.info or tgiBlackFriday.com.
Tech-War
Two electronics retailers will square off this holiday season, with one of them literally fighting for its life.
Best Buy stores open at 5 a.m. Black Friday as the company aims to put a stake through Circuit City with advertised mega-deals on televisions, computers, games and assorted gadgets. Shoppers who line up early will start to receive tickets for selected offers at 3 a.m.
Meanwhile, Circuit City, which now offers daily “door-busters”, sent out a press release announcing an “Open Door Policy” for the media on Black Friday. Traditionally stores are cautious about TV cameras winding the aisles while customers are trying to grab merchandise, but the one-day policy is an attempt to show the company is still breathing after the announcement that it would close 155 stores, including one in Sparks, Nevada. The “open-door” invitation does not apply to those stores.
Planning ahead
The key to success on Black Friday is having a plan, a budget, and sticking to both of them. Below is a list of popular major retailers and local malls arranged by Black Friday store hours:
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12 a.m. – Toys R Us
4 a.m. – JC Penney, Kohl’s
5 a.m. – Wal-Mart, Sears, Macy’s, Mervyn’s Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Circuit City, The Galleria at Sunset
6 a.m. – Target, Bass Pro Shops (Silverton), The Fashion Show Mall, The Boulevard Mall, The Meadows Mall
10 a.m. – The Grand Canal Shoppes (Venetian), The Shoppes at Palazzo, Miracle Mile Shops (Planet Hollywood), Forum Shops at Ceasars Palace
Here’s a list of Web sites you can use to research your shopping list before Black Friday:
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