Retailers bank on Black Friday to energize Christmas shoppers

After weeks of pushing early deals, retailers in the United States and some other countries tried to seduce customers with promises of bigger discounts on Black Friday, the sales event that still reigns as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster.

Retailers are even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Department stores, shopping malls and merchants — big and small — see the day after Thanksgiving as a way to energize shoppers and to get them into physical stores at a time when many gift-seekers do the bulk of their browsing and buying online.

The National Retail Federation predicted that shoppers would increase their spending in November and December by between 2.5% and 3.5% over the same period a year ago. During the 2023 holiday shopping season, spending increased 3.9% over 2022.

Enough traditionalists must still be around, because Black Friday remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic in the U.S., according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions.

“Black Friday is still an incredibly important day for retailers,” Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic, said. “It’s important for them to be able to get shoppers into their store to show them that experience of what it’s like to browse and touch and feel items. It also can be a bellwether for retailers on what to expect for the rest of the holiday season.”

At Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, there was a steady stream of shoppers as of 7:30 a.m. on Friday, an hour and a half after the flagship store opened. Discounts included 40% to 50% off most boots and shoes. The prices of many handbags also were listed as half-off.

In the U.S., analysts envision a solid holiday shopping season, though perhaps not as robust as last year’s, with many shoppers under financial pressure and cautious with their discretionary spending despite the easing of inflation.

Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, hoped to surpass the 12,000 shoppers who arrived last year within the first hour of the giant shopping center’s 7 a.m. opening. 

“(Stores) are very hungry for Black Friday to do well,” Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at market research firm Circana, said. “They recognize that they’re not going to clobber and win big growth in online because the pie has gotten so competitive. They have to find a way to win in the stores.”



(AP Photo Kirsty Wigglesworth)