As soon as you get your promotional calendar for Halloween in order, it's time to begin Holiday 2007. But most of you reading this already have Holiday events and promotions plugged in to your promotional calendars. But we digress ...
According to an article today on DNR.com (Designing Men's Fashion) "consumers have caught onto the now-accepted holiday rule that the later in the season they shop, the more discounts they can take home." According to Eric Beder, a retail analyst with Brean Murray, Carret & Company, "This year, consumers played the back-to-school season the same way they have been playing the holiday season for the past few years. They’ve waited for the last minute when the sales are deeper.”
Mandy Putnam, vice-president at TNS, agreed that discounting will be a likely holiday tactic for many. “Retailers are going to have to provide shoppers with a compelling reason to come to the store and shop,” she explained. “We’re going to see a lot more promotional activity if we haven’t seen it already. There’s this dance of ‘Will the consumer or retailer blink first?’ We think the retailer will, since this is going to be a pretty scary season for apparel retailers.”
The last quarter of the year -- the Golden Quarter -- is critically important to your business. You must be pro-active and plan RIGHT NOW to lure shoppers to your store. These are important dates to remember:
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and the most important shopping day of the year because it kicks off the holiday shopping season. Black Friday is the day when every retailer pulls out the stops, hoping to attract shoppers to their stores. It’s when the chains entice normally sane people out of their beds at 2:00 AM to stand on line in the cold until 6:00 AM when the store opens, hoping they will be one of five lucky people to score a $9.99 DVD player. Lately, it’s become more about the hunt than the actual prize because most of those intrepid folks never score the big draw items.
Why is Black Friday so important? Because it’s the day when many retailers begin the move from being unprofitable – “in the red" – to being profitable – "in the black". This single day will give you an important look into the future because it sets the tone for what’s likely to happen in your store, so whatever you plan to do for Black Friday, you’d better make it big.
Keep in mind that the day after Thanksgiving isn’t the only important holiday shopping day you need to worry about. If you sell on-line then Cyber Monday will be important to you as well. Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving; it marks the beginning of the on-line holiday shopping season. And if the trend continues, the last Saturday before Christmas will continue to be the highest sales day of the year, so you need to make a big splash on that day as well.
Source: RetailForward.com Read the entire article here: http://www.dnrnews.com/site/article.php?id=667 ; photo: LombardDirect.com
