TWICE:
How aggressive will promotions for Black
Friday turn out to be? Will we see earlier (pre-Thanksgiving)
and deeper promotions than last year?
Doretta Raffio, ADI: Most display providers continue
to be in an overstock situation and are trying to move
inventories by dropping prices. Price erosion will be an
all-time high this year. As we get closer to the end of the
season, I think they will resort to more drastic measures, resulting in even more aggressive price
moves on Black Friday.
Warren Chaiken, Almo: From recent
conversations with our consumer
electronics manufacturers, it appears
that Black Friday promotions will be
more aggressive than last year with start
dates in early November. We will also
see a marked increase in the quantity
and visibility of Black Friday promotions
for appliances.
Rob Eby, D&H Distributing: Retailers
are offering more aggressive promotions
in order to make the fourth quarter
happen, with pricing reductions that go
much deeper than last year. The market
can expect a bigger Black Friday than
ever, based on the price points that are
already showing themselves.
Fred Towns, New Age Electronics:
Retailers will be moving up their
holiday promotions to right after Halloween.
Consumers are more educated
about what they want and will be waiting
on deals before making their holiday
purchases. From what we understand,
retailers will be offering compelling
deals during the entire month of November
before Black Friday to entice consumer
to start shopping earlier.
Bill Stewart, Petra Industries: We
think promotions will be very aggressive
this year for categories like flat panel
TVs, e-readers, gaming, headphones,
computer and netbook accessories and
any accessory for an Apple-branded
item as retailers will try to lure early dealhunters
to their stores.
We began conversations with our
vendors months ago about Black Friday
deals because we wanted to begin the
fourth quarter ahead of our competition.
Our Black Friday promotions started the
first week of October with our “Today’s
Margin Maker” feature
on the front page of our
website where we highlight
everyday a new
deal that has a profit potential
for our customers.
Mark Gustavson, WYNIT: Manufacturer
performance leading up to
the fourth quarter will drive “promotional
aggressiveness.” We expect
suppliers with strong performance
in the first three quarters of the year
to be more conservative, unless their
competition seems vulnerable, and an
aggressive promotion can capture significant
market-share. That being said,
major retailers will continue to drive
traffic through SKU-specific offers
that could begin the weekend prior
to Black Friday, and most likely last
through Cyber Monday.
