Oh no. Here we go.
If you think Valentine’s Day is a commercialized excuse for candy and card sales, you’re going to love this – Walmart and Lowe’s are pimping “Spring Black Friday” to drum up sales and tap into another reason for a manufactured frenzy.
Is this a smart business move or is the number of shopping holidays invented for retail getting out of hand?
Walmart will be offering “Black Friday-like prices” on garden items, according to the New York Times, and over 60 items will have slashed prices, from grills to mulch, beginning today, ending next week.
Lowe’s Spring Black Friday is in effect and ends this coming Monday, offering discounts on many items, from riding mowers to drills.
“After this tough of a winter, we’re really excited to bring spring to our customers with great brands and great prices,” said Michelle Gloeckler, senior vice president of home at Walmart.
“And we’re going to do this in true Walmart fashion,” she added. “Think of just pallets and pallets of mulch and grills, patio sets and big yellow bags of Miracle-Gro. We’re ready to bring it out in a big way.”
Will Spring Black Friday spread?
Led by these big box retailers, whether or not sales boom dictates whether other big boys pick up the trend, or if it disappears like Pepsi Crystal.
It is a good thing for retailers to consider ways to improve business, and the wheel of the economy keeps turning, but when there are too many “shopping holidays,” it all becomes a blur, nothing is special or unique about the event, and in the long run, it becomes expected.
Small businesses will likely attempt the same, but without the marketing budgets of the big boxes, success will vary.
Ultimately, consumers will decide if this is useful or ridiculous.
