The day after Thanksgiving – Black Friday – is normally the beginning of the vacation shopping season. But a San Diego marketing expert believes bargains could be had as early as this weekend as Turkey Day falls later than usual this yr.
“We could see more competition (among retailers) and we could see base discounts go up into the 20% to 30% range, which will get people in the door,” he said Miro Copic, professor of selling at San Diego State University.
It's Thanksgiving is well known on the fourth Thursday in November. This yr it falls late within the month (November 28), shortening the time between Black Friday and Christmas by six days in comparison with a more typical shopping season.
“If people are looking for deals, some of the better ones will be this weekend,” because of the compressed schedule, Copic said.
Regardless of when consumers begin, this shopping season looks set to be a busy one.
The National Retail Federation forecasts Holiday spending will increase between 2.5 and three.5% in comparison with 2023. That represents purchases in November and December totaling $989 billion, which can be about $33 billion greater than last yr.
While the inflation rate is cooling, it continues to be impacting family budgets and Copic said consumers are “trying to spend their budget wisely this holiday season.”
According to software company Salesforce Inc.About a fifth of online purchases are made through “dupes,” an abbreviation for duplicates which can be cheaper alternatives to expensive brand-name clothing, handbags and other items. China-based web sites reminiscent of Before And Shein concentrate on selling lookalikes.
Another strategy? According to Copic, increasingly customers are buying now and paying later. E-commerce and financial services company based in Sweden Klarna Clarify payment details directly with buyers, not retailers.
“At some point, between traditional credit card debt and (buy now, pay later), there may be a balloon payment in the next year or two, but right now people are just doing that,” Copic said.
Facing intense competition from online retailers like Amazon, malls have tried to draw customers by becoming “destination locations,” offering not only shopping but additionally dining, entertainment and even areas for youngsters to play.
“Younger shoppers, the 18-24 or 18-29 (demographic), are going to the mall in droves because they see it as a group activity and something that's fun,” said Copic, who also said does co-founder of the San Diego-based company Bottomline marketing.
A record 183.4 million persons are planning a purchase order in stores and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this yr, based on a survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That's up from the previous record of 182 million in 2023 and 18.1 million more buyers than five years ago.
This is based on Deloitte's annual retail survey US consumers expect to spend $1,778 this holiday seasonthat’s 8% greater than within the previous yr.
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