More crap at cheaper prices
Thanksgiving is coming, and while we’d like to hope people are focused on expressing gratitude for their blessings and celebrating the year’s harvest, the fact is that Thanksgiving weekend has become one of the main times of year that American consumers focus on buying more crap for cheaper prices.
Last year, American Genius reported that while sales draw in customers, they can also burn retailers as “Christmas creep” puts the pressure on everyone to offer earlier and bigger discounts in order to stay competitive. Customers have become conditioned to expect massive price cuts around Thanksgiving, whether in store on online.
More and more, retailers have come to dread the three-day discount blitz of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.
So, who the hell is so excited?
Every year we hear horror stories about shoppers camping in the cold overnight to be the first in the door in the morning, or about customers being crushed as crazed bargain-hunters stampede towards the sales racks. This year, some folks will choose to play it safe by scooping up sale items online.
U.S. internet users, especially millennials, are STOKED about shopping online for Black Friday deals according to eMarketer. 47 percent of U.S. Internet users plan to shop online this Thanksgiving, reports consulting firm Accenture’s recent survey. Even more (65 percent) will shop on Black Friday, with 57 percent also hoping to hit up some sales on Cyber Monday.
This research was backed up by other surveys by Fluent and RetailMeNot, reporting millennials in particular will be signing on to get Thanksgiving weekend discounts.
Half of millennials also reported they plan to shop via smartphone, an increasingly popular choice for younger consumers. The Fluent survey showed that almost half of shoppers ages 18 to 44 will shop online on Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday, while nearly a third of shoppers over 45 will do the same.
Will your business offer discounts during Thanksgiving weekend?
