When Black Friday comes
I’ll stand down by the door
And catch the grey men when they
Dive from the fourteenth floor
When Black Friday comes
I’ll collect everything I’m owed
And before my friends find out
I’ll be on the road
When Black Friday falls you know it’s got to be
Don’t let it fall on me – Steely Dan
Sorry to hit you all up with the Dan first thing, I know they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I felt the lyrics are appropriate for what is shaping up to be a challenging (ie lousy) retail season.Still for all that more people than ever are expected to search online for bargains this year.
I was taking a look earlier today at the preponderance of Black Friday themed websites that have sprung up. Most of the sites specialize in publishing early material from retailers such as Wal-Mart’s upcoming Black Friday circulars. (For you whippersnappers those are the paper things with the ads and the prices that are given out on site or slipped between the pages of that other paper thing, a newspaper.) Predictably this has led to takedown requests but these sites keep on going.
For a retailer does it make sense to hew to publishing deadlines at this point?
People who are relying on print newspapers for their info are unlikely to see the leaked info online. More to the point, why fight the buzz that these sites can create over your sales? The object is to get a crowd of people pounding on your doors clamoring to get in there and spend. If they are interested enough to start cruising these sites now, they are likely to be out there spending.
The one downside is that these sites can make it easy to do comparisons so that consumers hone in on the best deals. While for retailers this can be daunting, in a sharp recession this is just how it’s gonna be from now on. If you have the best deal you’re good to go.
