Has Black Friday become a minor matter?
Do you remember a few years back when the store opened earlier and earlier, first at 6 a.m., then at 5 a.m. and then enough stores left by midnight and some, like Target, even through Thanksgiving?
And the queues of bundled buyers spread far from the shop doors to be the first in the shop to get an 86-inch TV or to sprint to Toys R Us?
How busy will Black Friday 2021 be?
“We don’t know the answer,” said Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of Government and Public Affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada, which oversees the New Mexico Retailers Association. “There are so many factors. We had more buyers in October than in previous October. In 2020, we actively stopped people from postponing Black Friday. “
If Black Friday store opening hours are any clue, you don’t have to lose a lot of sleep to be first in store.
Walmart, JCPenney, Kohl’s, and Best Buy maintained a sense of nostalgia with openings at 5 a.m. on Friday, with Bed Bath & Beyond choosing 6 a.m. Michaels and HomeGoods.
Burlington, Hobby Lobby, and the Santa Fe Place mall gave little reference to early Black Friday shopping with 8 a.m. openings. Cost Plus World Market and Dillards waited until 9 a.m. to open. The DeVargas Center stores mostly chose 9 a.m. or normal 10 a.m. openings.
“Our workers worked really hard during the pandemic,” said Katherine Cullen, senior director of Industry and Consumer Insights at the National Retail Federation. “It is an opportunity for workers to take time off.”
Black Friday pretty much turned into black November, even black Halloween.
“We saw Black Friday deals before Halloween,” said Cullen. “Many stores announced deals at the beginning of November. Lots of people already shopped on Black Friday last weekend. “
The National Retail Federation found that 28 percent of Christmas shopping was completed by early November.
Halloween was unforgettable at Santa Fe Place and for Antonio Guerrero, whose first day on the job as the mall’s marketing manager was Halloween.
“We had so many people there that we ran out of candy in about an hour and a half,” said Guerrero. “We expect Black Friday to follow the same pattern. We’ll have live music and two remote controls from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and we’re giving away a $ 1,000 shopping trip. “
Some Santa Fe shoppers may not leave home at all on Black Friday.
Ana Garcia from Santa Fe hasn’t dared Black Friday for about three years.
“I shop online,” said Garcia.
Santa Fe’s Marcella Montoya hasn’t gone to stores on Black Friday in six years – with one exception.
“In a year we wanted a TV,” said Montoya. “It was a disaster. I don’t go out Black Friday. I don’t like dealing with the crowd.”
James Butler of Peña Blanca estimated it could have been eight years since he personally did Black Friday.
“I won’t,” said Butler. “I don’t want to fight the masses.”
Cochiti Lake opera singer Will Russell performs often enough on Thanksgiving and Black Friday but would avoid Black Friday shopping anyway.
“I hate the crowds,” said Russell. “Nothing they do with all that marketing can get me in there.”
Shoppers looking to avoid the crowds can shop on Small Business Saturday, where the state of New Mexico offers all-day gross income tax exemptions on a wide range of products in small businesses with no more than 10 employees. These include clothing, sporting goods, toiletries, toys, and home electronics; Visit bit.ly/3DPswMl for more information.
Despite the proliferation of online shopping, the National Retail Federation still predicts that 64 percent of those who shop on Black Friday will do so in person.
The International Council of Shopping Centers’ survey of Christmas shopping intentions found that e-commerce could grow 13 percent compared to last year – when online shopping was the focus, particularly in New Mexico, where an occupancy limit of 25 percent and many shops were closed.
Online shopping was here to stay ahead of the pandemic and e-commerce fueled by COVID-19.
“We’re starting to see that there are a lot more options online,” said Wachter. “More and more people use roadside pick-up and delivery. People get products where they want them and when they want them. “
The wild card is whether there will be Fritos on the shelf and how the supply chain challenges of the past few months will affect anything you want – in person or online. Deloitte, the giant accounting and professional services network, found in a Christmas poll of more than 4,000 consumers that 68 percent would shop before Thanksgiving because half of those surveyed feared they would find empty shelves later in the season.
“When there is a supply chain problem, people go to stores because they could sell out online,” said Cullen. “It’s pretty easy to tell if an item is in-store or online.”
But the National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers are optimistic about Black Friday in-store shopping.
“People go to stores to buy gifts that they like to touch and feel: clothes, beauty items, fragrances,” said Cullen.
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