Frantic Shopping Day Kicks Off Holiday Buying Season
Friday, November 28, 2003
NEW YORK — It was "survival of the fittest" Friday as millions of consumers everywhere kicked off the holiday buying season.
And some die-hard shoppers were willing to do just about anything to take advantage of the bargains retailers offered to inaugurate the season, including waking up before sunrise in frigid temperatures to grab early-bird specials.
The day after Thanksgiving -- known as Black Friday because it once marked the day when retailers got out of the red -- is the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, which generates as much as 40 percent of annual revenues for key gift destinations such as toy stores and apparel chains.
"This is going to be a real big and important day not only for the shoppers but for the retailers -- this is their bread and butter, that's why they call it Black Friday," Jonathan Hoenig, portfolio manager with Capitalist Pig Asset Management, told Fox News.
Noting that consumers' take-home pay is up, as is consumer confidence and the stock market, "people generally are doing a lot better this year than they were in previous years," Hoenig said. And "right now, the economy's been looking better than it was six to nine months ago."
"Insane" is how Lloyd Jones, the manager of the Woodbridge, Va., Wal-Mart, described the beginning of the day.
About 1,000 people lined up in a drizzling rain for the store's 6 a.m. opening. Some were waiting out front as early as 2 a.m. It took more than 30 minutes for people to make it through the front door.
Jones said the store sold out of 700, 20-inch TVs in about 20 minutes -- and close to 2,000 DVDs were gone in a half hour. He estimated that sales at the store will be up about 12 percent over last year.
"It almost looks like looting except with checkouts at the front," said shopper Matt Scott.
Still, some shoppers said they enjoy wading through the crowds every year on Black Friday
"This is what I start my Christmas with," said Phyllis Cowden, 60, of Columbia, S.C. Her cart was filled with Power Rangers and a basketball hoop for her grandsons.
George Buckley, 50, of Arlington, Mass., said the shopping frenzy is a tradition in his family. "Eat turkey, sleep, get up early and spend money and help the economy," Buckley said outside the Burlington Mall.
With an improving economy, merchants are more hopeful this year that consumers will keep buying throughout the season, not only when the merchandise is 50 percent off.
"It's not going to be easy. Stores have conditioned consumers to buy on sale," said Burt Flickinger, managing partner at the consulting firm Strategic Resource Group in New York.
Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s (S) early bird specials, from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., included $99 grills and $299.99 combination DVD camcorders. All-day specials include 50 percent off on all sweaters and outerwear.
At J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP), consumers can get 50 percent reductions on holiday decorations, and 35 percent to 50 percent off selected apparel.
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) offered such early bird specials as Symphonic 20-inch flat screen TVs for $99.46, Apex DVD-CD combination players for $29.87 and Kodak digital cameras for $99.74.
The Washington-based National Retail Federation (search) projects total holiday sales to be up 5.7 percent to $217.4 billion from last year. That compares with a modest 2.2 percent increase in 2002.
Stores should also benefit from the fact that this holiday season has 27 shopping days, instead of last year's 26.
Many retailers believe the holiday 2003 season will be better than last year. The economy is on the rebound, but the job market, though improving, is still sluggish. Stores are trying to avoid getting stuck with mounds of holiday leftovers by entering the season with inventories that average 7 percent below last year's levels.
Some consumers are being a little more cautious this year.
Donna Wiedoff of Phoenix, Ariz., carted away two armloads of bags from Fashion Square by 7:30 a.m. "I come out with a sale in mind. I check the newspaper. I set my priorities," Wiedoff said. "We've cut back on our Christmas shopping simply because of the economy. It's just commonsense."
Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation in Tallahassee, said prognosticators are predicting a 6 to 7 percent increase in sales over last year.
"I think you're going to see sales, early sales during this holiday season, but I don't think you'll see as many as you have in the past," he said. "Since retailers are a little bit optimistic, they may go back to the traditional after-Christmas clearances to get the inventories out and make room for the spring merchandise."
But Thanksgiving weekend is no longer the busiest period of the season. Last year, it accounted for only 10.1 percent of holiday sales.
The busiest period is the last week before Christmas, which accounted for 41 percent a year ago. That's up from 34 percent in 2001 and 30.9 percent in 2000, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (search).
The big test for retailers will be sustaining any early-season strength. In 2002, Thanksgiving weekend sales were strong, but demand tapered off after that, and the holiday season generated the smallest sales gain in more than 30 years, according to Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, which tracks sales.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report |
