So many holiday shoppers are expected to hit stores on Thanksgiving that "we're projecting that for the first time since 2005, Black Friday won't be the busiest shopping day of the year," said Bill Martin, founder of ShopperTrak.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In the strongest sign yet that retailers were pleased with their sales and foot traffic last Thanksgiving, more stores are announcing earlier-than-ever shopping hours on the Thursday before Black Friday. The latest news: Toys 'R' Us and JCPenney both plan to start their holiday doorbusters at 5 p.m., hoping to tempt shoppers away from stores opening at 6 p.m.
JCPenney, opening three hours earlier than last Thanksgiving, says, "It's our biggest jingle sale ever." JCP is offering $10-off coupons at the door (including some worth $100 off a $100-or-more purchase), while supplies last, and offering customers a sneak peak at its 72-page Black Friday insert, so they can start their lists early.
The deals include: women's boots for $19.99 (regularly $49.99 to $89.99); Nuband fitness trackers for $39.99 (normally $80); an 18-piece Pyrex glass storage set with matching lids for $14.99 (down from $78); a four-piece Protocol Roman luggage set for $39.99 (normally $160); and a 1-carat diamond stud earrings in 14K white or yellow gold for $379.99 (down from $1,499.98);
View full sizeToys 'R' Us employees are briefed with last minute instructions before the doors open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Toys 'R' Us, with 14 locations in Northeast Ohio, is opening at 5 p.m. again this year -- and keeping its stores open through 11 p.m. on Black Friday -- for 30 straight hours of sales on what it calls "the season's most sought-after playthings."
"As eager shoppers head to stores with detailed lists in hand -- based on kids' scribbled notes to Santa -- our toy experts will be at the ready to remove the guesswork and ensure they find the toy, deal, service or special offer to help them check off every gift with ease," said Joe Venezia, senior vice president of store operations for Toys 'R' Us, U.S., in a statement.
Starting on Thanksgiving, and on peak traffic hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until Christmas, red-shirted employees designated as Toys 'R' Us GPS (Gurus for Play Stuff) will be stationed in-store to offer advice on hot toys and top deals.
View full sizeKatie Zeman of Mentor pushes a loaded cart through the aisles of Toys 'R' Us in Mentor in this 2013 photo.The retailer said stores will also have easier-to-navigate aisle signs and an express lane for those buying only one or two items. Customers can scan a QR code at the front of the store to help them find whatever name-brand toy they're looking for and what aisle it's in.
Employees will also track down customers with overflowing shopping carts, scan their items while they're standing in line, and give them a barcode they can hand to the cashier for a quicker checkout.
Bill Martin, founder of ShopperTrak, the Chicago technology company that measures retail foot traffic, said retailers are opening earlier to get to the consumer's wallet "ahead of the other guy," and before all the dollars are spent.
Retailers know that holiday shoppers tend to spend the most time -- and the most money -- at the store they hit first, because that's where they hope to buy the gifts they want most. And if they're standing there waiting to check out, they might throw a few more items in the cart.
"I thought last year that Thanksgiving Day store openings would run their course," especially after Black Friday sales dropped 13 percent, and sales grew only 1 percent for the weekend as a whole, Martin said. "It didn't seem to me that opening up on Thanksgiving had paid off."
The amount of money people spent last Thanksgiving was comparable to an average Thursday in November -- but that was spread across fewer stores open for only a few hours that day. Many stores didn't start their sales until 8 p.m.
Yet more retailers are announcing earlier hours this Thanksgiving.
This year, so many holiday shoppers are expected to hit stores on Thanksgiving that "we're projecting that for the first time since 2005, Black Friday won't be the busiest shopping day of the year," Martin said. Instead, that designation will likely go to Super Saturday (the final Saturday before Christmas), on Dec. 20.
"Black Friday was No. 1 last year, but just barely," he said. "This year, Super Saturday is in a more favorable position [on the calendar], because the Christmas holiday is on Thursday."
ShopperTrak is forecasting a 3.8 percent increase in holiday spending this year, boosted by falling gas prices, higher consumer confidence, and lower unemployment. That's a pretty good improvement over last year's 2.7 percent increase, he said.
But just to make sure, most retailers opening on Thanksgiving are offering a whole new set of deals starting on Black Friday, to keep the registers ringing.
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