Washington – As many as 138 million shoppers are expected to hit
the stores over Black Friday weekend, a 3 percent increase over 2009.
According to a survey for the National Retail Federation (NRF) by
BIGresearch, 60 million consumers say they will definitely shop for
post-Thanksgiving bargains, while another 78 million said they will brave the
cold and the crowds if the prices are right.
To ensure that they do, retailers are leveraging the Internet to
promote their Black Friday sales. More than half (54.9 percent) will send a
special email to customers, and nearly four out of 10 (39.2 percent) will use
their Facebook page to reach out to shoppers, BIGresearch found. Retailers will
also utilize their website’s home page (31.4 percent) and Twitter (21.6 percent)
to announce doorbuster deals.
“The rules for Black Friday have changed significantly,” said NRF
president/CEO Matthew Shay. “Instead of waiting until Thanksgiving Day to
announce their promotions, many retailers are getting shoppers excited about
Black Friday by offering sneak peeks of deals in advance, using social media to
create buzz, or teasing upcoming deals on their websites.”
