photo: msnbc.msn.comRetailer's Black Friday incentives to lure shoppers to their stores gets better every day! The past couple of years Target offered customers a celebrity wake up call on Black Friday. Shoppers visited Target's website where they chose a celebrity and registered to receive the recorded message at their choice of hour. This year J.C. Penney has is doing this as well. Penney's also announced it will open its stores nationwide at 4 AM on Black Friday. Their website shows how serious they are about attracting shoppers to their store's first.
Meanwhile, Nordstrom and Wal-Mart shoppers can sign-up to receive text messages sent to their cellphones with information on discounts and special sales. And Best Buy offers gift suggestions on its mobile Web site.
Not to be outdone, on-line retailers such as QVC.com and Amazon.com are sending customers holiday specials. Amazon.com sent us a "Last your you bought ..." -- a good memory refresher, and a good way to entice us to buy again.
You now have officially six says until Black Friday; the start of the holiday shopping season and the BIGGEST SHOPPING DAY OF THE YEAR. Competition will be fierce and you have to be ready. The chains and the big boxes are set to sell and the ad campaigns have been running for weeks now. Shoppers are already planning where to go and what to buy.
INDEPENDENT RETAILERS: YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL on Black Friday to get in the game or you will lose out on your share of holiday sales. If you have nothing planned, run a "50% Off of Any One Item of Your Choice" coupon from 6:00 AM until 8:00 AM. E-mail us at info@kizerandbender.com and we will e-mail you a 50% off coupon template, plus instructions on how to advertise and run this sale. And yes, you can limit which items can be purchased with the coupon and the dollar amount.
