Retailers, shoppers laying out strategies for Black Friday

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November 19, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Nov 19, 2009, 03:57 PM CST

By Derek Spellman and Andy Ostmeyer

news@joplinglobe.com

Retailers hope Black Friday will make them money. Consumers hope it will save them money.

The two sides are laying out battle plans with a week to go.

“If you are willing to go on the hunt, you can save a bundle, but you have to do your research,” Penny Smart, of Joplin, said of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when Christmas shopping becomes a hell-for-leather ride.

She outlines when and where she needs to be at each store, based on the hours the stores open and the times when they are offering deals.

“Some places open at 3 a.m.; others have door busters until 10 a.m.,” Smart said.

She also scours ads, whether in newspapers or online.

“That is something me and my family do on Thanksgiving Day,” she said. “We sit around and we take all the ads out, and we pass it from one person to the next.”

Retailers, too, are devising strategies, laying out advertising blitzes and “door busters” to lure shoppers. And all stores are prepping for marathon hours.

Northpark Mall in Joplin actually opens at 5 a.m. on Nov. 27, but some retailers will have put in the better part of a day’s work by then.

“Bath and Body is going to open at midnight,” said Dewayne Patton, general manager of the mall.

Old Navy will open at 3 a.m.; Sears and J.C. Penney will open at 4 a.m.; and Macy’s will open at 5 a.m.

The mall will extend its hours the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and then for a while will revert to regular hours. On Dec. 12, “We’ll go into full mode holiday shopping,” Patton said. The mall will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

‘Door busters’

Target said it expects markdowns and sales to drive business this season. Executives said they will kick off their holiday shopping season before most Americans carve their turkeys, launching a one-day sale Thanksgiving Day on Target.com before the traditional Black Friday shopping sprees begin the next day.

Casey Beckley, manager of the Joplin Target store, said it will extend its hours this Sunday, staying open an hour later. One Black Friday, the store will open at 5 a.m., an hour earlier than it has opened on previous Black Fridays. Target is offering free reusable shopping bags to the first 100 shoppers and $10 gift cards to everyone who spends $100 before noon, and using electronics, clothing and housewares as “door busters.”

Beckley figures she’ll have get to work about 3:30 a.m. that day.

“It’s so much fun though,” she said. “We just run on adrenaline.”

Wal-Mart launched a campaign of its own this week, saying it will temporarily cut prices up to 60 percent on popular toys and video games beginning Saturday and lasting through Black Friday, when a surge of shoppers usually helps stores break into profitability for the full year.

Patton said the mall’s sales began rebounding in late summer, with back-to-school events.

“We’ve started seeing a turnaround in retail sales,” he said. “We really anticipate the holiday season will be a positive one. We’re cautious, but we’re optimistic, too. It’s extremely important. Christmas every year is the season for sales, and this year, with the economy, it is certainly more important.”

Shop’s appeal

Dianne Jones, co-owner of Neosho Gifts Etcetera, said that for her shop, Black Friday doesn’t bring the morning scramble seen at other stores.

“Our Black Friday probably doesn’t start until 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon,” she said.

But that is part of her shop’s appeal, she said. People are looking for a quieter environment, one-on-one customer service and special gifts — fragrant candles and gourmet foods, for example — after wading through swarming crowds.

The store is offering some special sales, she said.

For her shop, it’s the day after Black Friday and throughout the month of December when traffic is brisk.

“We get a little busy closer to the holiday,” Jones said.

She acknowledged that business has not been as good as in the past, although it is holding its own. She attributed that to a number of factors. Part of it, Jones said, is a loyal customer base. Part of it is that she owns the building that houses the store at 114 S. Wood St., so she doesn’t pay rent.

“It’s a little bit different climate with us,” she said.

‘Hard on everybody’

Sharon Coffee, owner of the Colonial House, 348 Grant Ave. in Carthage, also is gearing up for the holidays. The store specializes in early American furniture and accessories, ranging from vintage ornaments to candles and chandeliers.

“It has been hard on everybody this year,” Coffee said of the economy. “Business has been way down. It’s a concern for everybody. We don’t see the traffic we used to.”

She recently had an open house to draw back shoppers, and the store is going to be open from 1 to 5 p.m. each Sunday after Thanksgiving.

“We are really just hoping to get people back in the store,” she said, adding that Colonial House expects to do 20 to 30 percent of its business in the next few weeks.

“We really believe in these little stores like ours that are really trying to make it,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Disney’s plan

Disney Store North America will be opening more than 125 stores nationwide at midnight on Thanksgiving, and will be slashing prices on many gifts by $5, $10 and $15.