Company News
Black Friday Sales
by DW Green — September 30, 2010
The Friday following Thanksgiving is generally the worst food-shopping day of the year for supermarkets across the country. If not the lowest sales day of the year, it’s certainly in the top five! Accordingly, many retailers “give up” on sales for the long weekend following Thanksgiving. Many even cancel their weekly ad Thanksgiving week. Is this a good strategy or a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Black Friday, the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season, has become a sales boom for most every retail format. For many Americans, a Black Friday shopping trip has become a family tradition. Waking up in the wee hours of Friday morning and standing in long lines to take advantage of some of the best deals of the holiday season appears to be a fun and entertaining activity for many families. I can recall partaking in this annual sale-a-bration with my own family on many occasions!
I wonder what type of sales events food stores can run to take advantage of Black Friday’s shopping frenzy? What about stock up sales for holiday products, meat items, frozen foods, beverages, supplements, cosmetics or wine and liquor? The sale could last two, three or four hours in length. Schedule it after the traditional early morning retail events, in the late morning, at noon or in the late afternoon. Tie in deli and bakery deals around the sale. Use radio, your website, email blasts, facebook, twitter and in-store handouts and signage to announce and promote the event. Even a Groupon event could be effective.
If Black Friday sales have been disappointing in the past, why not try a special Black Friday sales event yourself to increase store sales for the day? You may even start a new family shopping tradition with your customers.
Filed Under: Company News
