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Industry News  Competitive Intelligence Retailers turn Thanksgiving into Cyburkey... |
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Retailers turn Thanksgiving into Cyburkey Thursday
Print - FPinfomart - MCT Regional News - Wednesday November 21st, 2007
Nov. 18--First there was "Black Friday," the big shopping day that follows Thanksgiving, when retailers' ink typically was said to change to black, indicating profit, from red, indicating a deficit.
Then there was "CyberMonday," the busy e-commerce weekday start after Thanksgiving. Now, Thanksgiving itself is getting titles like "Cyburkey Thursday" and "Black Thursday," thanks to heavy Internet shopping traffic and an increasing number of retailers opening on the holiday.
While these days may not be the ones with the heaviest transactions, they are part of the expanding pre-Christmas hoopla generated by retailers hoping to build momentum and grab sales as early as possible in what promises to be a challenging holiday season.
As part of their efforts, retailers are hoping to capitalize off the fact that a growing number of consumers are not only buying gifts online but scouring the Web ahead of time for Black Friday deals and researching products and prices before braving actual stores.
Because of this, retail experts are seeing some new trends this year. Among them is the expectation that retailers will be giving consumers previews of Black Friday doorbusters, information they usually keep secret until this coming Thursday's advertisements.
Leading the trend is Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer. On Nov. 1, Wal-Mart discount stores released information about what it described as Black Friday-type deals available on Nov. 2. Customers were able to sign up for e-mail or text-message alerts or go online to learn about the sale items.
Starting Monday, Bentonville-Ark.-based chain's Sam's Club also will be giving customers a "sneak peek" at doorbuster items that will go on sale Friday. Like the earlier Wal-Mart notifications, customers can learn about the items through e-mail and text-message alerts and by going online at samsclub.com.
"The big thing is that people are starting earlier and earlier to look for gifts and the best prices are a factor," said Susan Koehler, a Sam's Club spokeswoman. "We felt like we'd like to get into the game. It's a first for us. ... We are trying to meet our members' needs."
The alerts and online information will be a sampling of more than 30 doorbuster items that will go on sale Friday. The items will include flat-screen televisions electronics and accessories and jewelry. The warehouse store will not identify the goods until Monday, and the items will not be available for purchase until Friday.
Sam's Club opens at 5 a.m. and will be offering shoppers a continental breakfast in order to brave the crowds.
The move by Wal-Mart to offer "sneak previews" comes at a time when "Black Friday" websites are proliferating. These sites offer what they say is secret information about deals that major retailers plan to offer the day after Thanksgiving. Most allow consumers to sign up for e-mail alerts.
Indeed, Internet searches on the term "Black Friday ads" are up 91 percent in 2007 compared with last year and have increased 954 percent since 2005, according to data collected by Hitwise, a New York-based online competitive-intelligence service. The searches are also taking place earlier this year, Hitwise said.
"Much to the chagrin of some retailers, shoppers are well-aware of the leaked promotions and are able to plan their Black Friday purchases before Thanksgiving arrives," Heather Dougherty, director of research at Hitwise, said in a statement. "While some retailers resist having their sales announce prematurely, others are embracing these sites as a customer-acquisition opportunity."
While some sites are able to obtain advance copies of retailers' ads and other accurate information, some of it is wrong, warned Daniel Butler, vice president of merchandising and retail operations at the Washington-based National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail-trade group.
"Retailers can change advertising copy until the day it runs," he said. "These sites can also lead consumers to believe a retailer has something they don't. ... My advice is if it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
Daniel de Grandpre, founder of dealnews.com, a site that keeps track of store bargains, also warned against relying on Black Friday websites. "It's like reading gossip magazines," he said.
In addition, some of the information also has been obtained and published illegally, which has resulted in litigation. Abuses by these sites have been steadily increasing over the last three to five years, Butler said.
Among Black Friday websites that have told consumers about legal threats they have received from retailers is Black Friday Ads bfads.com.
It recently posted a letter it received from Wal-Mart lawyers warning the site against posting information from Wal-Mart advertisements before release dates starting Monday. The letter said the information is confidential and protected by copyright and other laws.
While information about Black Friday deals continues to roll out, Butler said he expects to see more retailers opening at midnight or even earlier on Thursday. Many of those announcements will start this weekend, but some retailers already have notified consumers.
For example, Bass Pro Shops announced that it will be open Thanksgiving Day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will then reopen on Black Friday at 6 a.m. with doorbuster specials lasting until 11 a.m.
CompUSA also has said that like last year, it will be open from 9 p.m. until midnight Thursday. It will reopen at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.
But for shoppers who would rather just stay at home and smell the turkey roasting, de Grandpre has a comforting prediction. He expects many big retailers will offer special online deals starting at midnight Wednesday and running through Thanksgiving. Because of this, he's calling Thanksgiving "Black Thursday."
"A lot of Black Friday sales are going on online that day and a lot of those purchases will have free shipping," he said suggesting that shoppers get online as early as possible. "If you don't do that, you might miss out of the deal you want."
Online visits to the top 100 retail sites on Thanksgiving have been steadily growing, Hitwise found. Visits to those websites were up 11.8 percent for Thanksgiving 2006 compared with 2005 and 33.9 percent compared with 2004. Last Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart's site, walmart.com received the largest percentage of visits among those top 100 retailer sites.
Given historical data collected along with online traffic that's already building this year, Matt Tat-ham, a Hitwise spokesman, said Thanksgiving promises to be a busy Internet day. His office has even nicknamed that day "Cyburkey Thursday."
"It's an excellent strategy," he said about retailers offering special deals on Thanksgiving. "They have a captive audience."
gappleson@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8331
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Copyright (c) 2007, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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