7/30/2019 Consumer Insights: Black Friday

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7/30/2019 Consumer Insights: Black Friday

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/black-friday-gap-toys-r-us-hope-longer-store-hours-deeper-discounts-will-lure-

customers/2011/11/23/gIQAAsZnsN_story.html

Other than the chance to get a smart phone for a cent, heres a look at why we all shop on thesame day:

1) The crowds make us happy

First, a disclaimer: The vast majority of the subjects in these studies are women. Not only dowomen do the overwhelming majority of holiday gift buying, Thomas said, the stereotypes aboutmen and shopping held true for the researchers. The only time men were present, they were sortof just tagging along, Thomas said.

Sang-Eun Byun, an assistant professor of consumer affairs at Auburn University inAlabama, surveyed hundreds of shoppers at Zara and H&M and found that the limitedavailability of goods in those stores excited the customers. Even though it wasnt Black Friday,she said her findings hold true for any shopping situation in which high-value goods are scarce.

Online retailers are promoting online shopping deals in the hope of reaching consumers

unwilling to brave long lines outside stores. As Bloomberg explained:

Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc., aiming to get more consumers to shop online this holidayseason, are taking their fight to brick-and-mortar retailers home turf on Black Friday, the busiestshopping day of the year.

EBay is planning holiday pop-up locations in New York, San Francisco and London that willlet consumers scan a barcode and buy products on the spot, using mobile phones. Amazonopened an online Black Friday deals store on Nov. 1. Its packing the site with offers each day tokeep shoppers checking in over the Web, instead of heading to the mall.

Internet sellers aim to spur more buying from couches and armchairs among the more than 95percent of U.S. consumers who still shop in stores, ratcheting up rivalry with traditional retailersas economic weakness weighs on spending growth. EBays outdoor displays and shopping cafes,for example, seek to catch the eye of shoppers who are hurrying in and out of stores, offering analternative to post-Thanksgiving crowds and lines.

If people have a finite amount of discretionary dollars to lock up before Black Friday, it suitsthese retailers well, said Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. Web retailersare better-positioned than store retailers. They in many cases can have better offers because theireconomics are more favorable.