There is a lot of talk in the press about Black Friday -- the Day After Thanksgiving. A crop of websites have emerged that haven taken the wind out of some retailers sails by exposing their Black Friday ads. Check them out for yourself at http://www.gottadeal.com , http://www.bf2005.com/ , and blackfridayads.com
gottadeal.com is run by a 26 year old out of his parents' house; www.bf2005.com was started by a college student. It’s operated by his friend from his dorm room. He actually started the site last year while still in high school. (We told you Millennials were forward thinkers!) The site costs about $600 to operate and it gets more than 200,000 visitors a week.
Consumers may love these sites, but they are not too good for retailers’ because they take the surprise out of what’s on sale. It also gives competing retailers a chance to change their ad offerings and one-up their competitors. We suggest that everyone visit these sites to see the extremes retailers are going to in order to attract shoppers on Black Friday.
We’ve noticed that many stores are doing things to get a jump on the holidays. JC Penney and Kohl’s, for example, are starting the holidays early with huge sales this Saturday (November 17). Others are participating in attention-grabbing antics that connect customers to their stores. Sam’s Club is serving free breakfasts on Black Friday, and Target is offering pre-recorded celebrity wake-up and tuck in calls to insure that shoppers afraid of sleeping through the store's annual two-day Thanksgiving sale can relax.
We hope that you have something BIG planned in your stores for Black Friday. Especially in the early hours. You can do a free breakfast -- coffee and donuts. Look for things that will help you connect customers to your store: Bounce Back Coupons, gift cards, gift registry's, a list of "Top Ten Not-to-be-Missed Holiday Gifts", perhaps by age group or by department. Nd encourage EVERYONE to add on each sale. The worst thing that can happen is that the customer says no, but the best thing is increased sales!
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