More sales start Thanksgiving or very early Friday morning
In an effort to best their rivals -- and claim a greater share of holiday spending -- retailers have been opening up earlier and earlier.
While a 5 or 6 a.m. Friday start time used to be the norm, now shoppers may have to pull an all-nighter to land the best deals, says Michael Brim, an operator of deal site BFAds.net.
Last year Wal-Mart started its sales at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day (9 p.m. online), and Toys R Us opened its doors at 9 p.m. Staying up late after a big feast is hard enough. In some cases, shoppers had to stay at the store for hours to land deals across all departments or even come back early the next morning.
Black Friday isn't the best and only day for bargains
While sales on Black Friday continue to rise, "it has become less powerful and important," Cohen says, as shoppers spread out their purchases over a longer period, rather than filling much of their list in one bargain-filled day.
This year, more consumers are hunting for deals earlier, in an attempt to use layaway plans or to just score deals on hot items before they sell out.
According to the NRF, 22.1% of shoppers surveyed say they will begin their gift shopping in October, up from 20.3% last year.
And a greater number are trolling for deals right up until Christmas and Hanukkah.
"There's been less emphasis on Black Friday in favor of the two-month period leading up to Christmas," Olson says. "There are more Black Friday-level deals in the weeks leading up to Black Friday (and the weeks after) than there were five years ago, when stores put all of their eggs in the Black Friday basket."
In fact, dealnews.com says the best deals on winter apparel, toys and brand-name HDTVs come right before Santa's big day.
"There are definitely better prices to be had as the season rolls out," says Cohen.
So why do retailers focus so much on Black Friday? "It's still a launch pad to get consumers into a spending mindset," Cohen says. "It's an emotional trigger," reminding them of time spent bonding with family -- even if it was elbowing past other cranky shoppers to get a bargain on that must-have toy.
It has also become a prime time for people to stock up on deals for themselves, such as holiday apparel or jewelry. According to the NRF survey, six in 10 shoppers -- the most in the survey's history -- plan to spend an average of $139.92 on "self-gifting" this holiday season.
More chains offer secret, last-minute Black Friday deals online
Once most of the Black Friday ads have been published on sites across the Web, a second wave of discounting, not featured in leaked ads, takes place. These Black Friday week "flash sales" allow retail chains -- especially discounters like Target, Best Buy, Amazon and Wal-Mart -- to match or better their rivals' published deals.
"A printed ad has to be designed, printed and delivered," Brim says. "An online sale can be created and launched in under an hour."
Amazon, for one, does a lot of its discounting on the fly, marking down prices on items during the entire week in response to others' bargains.
To find these last-minute sales, it pays to check deal sites, which update their sales information frequently.
More retailers are price-matching BF deals
Black Friday sales used to be the exception to most retailers' price-matching policies. Not anymore. Best Buy and Target said recently they would match Amazon and other online retailers on prices in an attempt to cut down on so-called "showrooming," where people inspect stores' merchandise before buying the item for less online.
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