Gearing up for Black Friday

By Charles Dundley
Best Buy, Macy’s, Toys R Us and JC Penney are retailers that are starting Black Friday a day early. These retailers will open their doors to Black Friday shoppers on the evening of Thanksgiving Day. The fact that the 2013 winter shopping season is six days shorter than it was in 2012 may be a reason why retailers are opting to open their doors earlier. Additionally, the early openings are a sign that retailers have high expectations that the 2013 Black Friday shopping season will be a huge success.


Another sign that retailers are hopeful that the 2013 holiday shopping season will be successful is revealing itself in hiring. In October, retailers added 37,600 jobs to their payrolls. During September, retailers hired 15,200 workers. The National Retail Federation reports that, except for the automobile, restaurant and gas station industries, broad sales were gained in most other industries.

In fact, the National Retail Federation shares that, “Retail sales increased a healthy 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from last month, and 3.8 percent unadjusted year-over-year.” Furthermore, “Retailers witnessed a solid sales performance in September, with marked gains in all sectors, excluding clothing.”

Blackfriday.com, dealnews.com, fatwallet.com, retailmenot.com and blackfriday.fm are websites that highlight Black Friday price deals. Highlighted at the websites are coupons and discount codes for major retailers like WalMart, Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Ugg Australia and Bluefly.

Because Black Friday extends up to a week, revenues gained during the shopping event could well exceed $250 billion. Predictions for retail sales November through December are at about $602 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. This would represent a marginal increase of 3.9% over the previous year’s 3.5% winter shopping season sales.

In addition to extending the time shoppers have to buy and spend, retailers are also going big on free shipping. Brochures, catalogs, direct mail, digital newsletters and flyers are already going out to current and prospective customers, alerting them to early late autumn deals they can take advantage of.


Considering the fact that retailers generate from 20% to 40% during the winter shopping season, it’s a good economic sign if the 2013 Black Friday week is nothing but a success. Smart shoppers will be gearing up early, clipping coupons, getting discount codes and taking advantage of free shipping options to help make this happen.