Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

The Shift in Black Friday

Brands, Companies, Consumerism, ,

In 2015, the retailer REI first announced that its stores would be closed on Black Friday. This was a dramatic message at the time, as the day after Thanksgiving is known to be the most popular shopping day of the year, with stores offering competitive sales. From then, the store continued in its path of shutting its doors on Black Friday, making the decision on a year-to-year basis. Now, however, the company has announced that every aspect of the business will be closed on Black Friday every year. This includes all 178 of its retail stores, its call centers, headquarters, and distribution locations – giving a paid vacation day to 16,000 employees.

In recent years, the excitement of Black Friday has been slowly waring off.  The younger generation is less willing to wake up at the crack of dawn and wait outside on line for hours to get a good deal. Additionally, many companies have extended their “Black Friday sale” to the days leading up to Thanksgiving, or the days after – leaving less pressure to shop specifically on that Friday.

Following REI, a new trend has been noted with retailers choosing to “Opt Outside.” The movement prioritizes spending the day outdoors, creating experiences, and basically doing anything other than shopping. The CEO of REI, Eric Artz, says: “Opt Outside has always been about prioritizing the experience of our employees, choosing the benefits of time outside over a day of consumption and sales. When we first introduced this movement, it was considered revolutionary for a retail brand, but we felt it was the right thing to do for our members and employees.”

While most retailers are still open for business on Black Friday, the change in thinking is revolutionary and sure to continue shifting trends in consumerism as the years go on.

Macy’s Is Gearing Up For Thanksgiving Sales

Companies, , , , , , , ,

Macy’s Inc. (M), like most retail outlets, is gearing up for the thanksgiving holiday season. They are hiring extra help and planning to be open extra hours. In addition, there are 10-15% discounts to attract customers on this amazingly competitive shopping season. All of the retail stores, such as JCPenney, Target and Wal-Mart are all competing for this holiday business. They all know that consumers will spend less this year because of economic constraints and every store wants to get as much of the sales that they can.

Macys Inc. (M) operates department stores under the names Macy’s and Bloomingdales and also internet stores under those names. The Macy’s stores sell clothes, home furnishings, cosmetics and other consumer goods. Bloomingdales adds jewelry, handbags and intimate apparel into the product mix. Macy’s owns 850 department stores located in 45 states in the U. S. The original Macy’s was founded in 1820 so the chain has 190 years of experience.

The company seems to be managed fairly well with a return on assets of 6.53% and a return on equity of 21.93%.

Some of the directors and staff are: Janine Durborow, Wilberte Paul, Stephen F. Bollenbach, and Karen M. Hoguet.

‘Tis the Season – for Holiday Electronics Shopping

Consumerism, , ,

With Halloween in the past and Thanksgiving on the way, can the season of gift-shopping be far behind?

In fact, that shopping-for-gifts season has arrived even earlier this year, after retailers began offering discounts weeks before earlier than usual. Discounts on merchandise usually begin on the now-traditional Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving. However, worry about maintaining shopping levels in the wake of the still depressed economy induced retailers to begin their sales weeks in advance.

Shoppers responded to these early discounts by beginning their shopping early, and, according to a new survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association, what they are shopping for in increasing numbers are electronic gifts. Consumer plan to spend more on electronics this holiday season than they have during any of the past seventeen years, and laptops and Apple iPads and iPods are the number one gift items for the year, the poll showed. Nearly 3 out of 4 American adults are planning electronic gifts this year, an increase from 67% last year. This increase is despite the approximately 2% fall in overall gift spending that is expected during this year’s holiday season.

In the wake of the early-season discounts, the Consumer Electronics Association trade group increased its projections for fourth-quarter electronics sales and is now predicting shipments of 10.74 million TVs, 14.32 million digital cameras, 18.24 million video game units and 12.88 million MP3 players during the fourth quarter of 2010.