Retailers pull out all the stops to lure Black Friday customers after tepid 2008 sales

Shoppers brave enough to hurl themselves into the post-Thanksgiving madness of Black Friday were greeted by substantial discounts on electronics and other popular holiday items — especially shoppers who showed up early.

Some retailers opened as early as midnight after Thanksgiving to accommodate the Black Friday hordes they hoped would materialize. A few opened an hour or two earlier than in years past. In any case, getting there earlier rather than later was likely to yield the best deals. Discounts may be steep, but inventories are tight, a reflection of retailers’ anticipation of another lame shopping season due to the recession.

Cesar Briseno, general manager of Sunrise Mall, said the biggest change he expected for this year was retailers carrying fewer units of a given advertised item.

The National Retail Federation predicts a 1-percent drop in holiday sales from the 2008 season, which was a grim one for retailers. In fact, retail sales last November and December declined for the first time since 1992, the first year tracking data became available. Retailers may be nervous, but that may translate into glad tidings for deal-hungry customers.

Some retailers have already shifted into Black Friday mode. Walmart, for instance, rolled out holiday pricing on electronics in the middle of November. Kmart, Sears and Toys R Us also started offering Black Friday-style promotions early on their Web sites. The Kohl’s Web site allowed shoppers to "build your list" ahead of the Black Friday kickoff, which began at midnight online and 4 a.m. today at Kohl’s retail outlets. JCPenney began offering online previews of its Black Friday specials on Monday and in newspaper inserts on Thanksgiving Day.

"The retailer is going to do anything and everything they can to earn (customers’) business," Briseno says. "I see that across the board. All these retailers are working really hard to make sure they have what the customers are looking for. We realize some people are going to be out as early as midnight looking for the best deals, so we have to have that niche to distinguish us from these other shopping centers."

To help lure customers, Sunrise Mall was giving away holiday savings coupon books containing savings of up to 20 percent, depending on the retailer, at its Manifiestos kiosk near Bealls. The mall’s Black Friday hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., though some mall stores opened even earlier. JCPenney and Sears threw open their doors at 4 a.m. this morning. American Eagle, Aeropostale, and The Children’s Place followed suit at 5 a.m. The mall’s weekend hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Retailers went whole hog with circulars this year. JCPenneys, for instance, expanded its Black Friday circular to 64 pages, including 50 pages of "Doorbuster" specials and more than 100 "Big Buys." Briseno said circulars have "a little more of an impact" than television advertising. Mike Boylson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for JCPenney, called this year’s Black Friday "more promotional than ever."

Notwithstanding projections for a soft sales season, Briseno was optimistic during the run-up to the big event.

"We are expecting a good weekend," he said. "We had a great weekend this last weekend. If that’s any indication of how we’re going to do this coming weekend I think we’re going to do well."

Michelle Rothstein, senior vice president of Chelsea Property Group, which owns Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets in Mercedes, said outlets don’t do mass circular blitzes like conventional malls. At the same time, outlets stores are seeing "a whole new wave of outlet shopper" due to economic conditions, she said.

"This year we’re all spending a bit more wisely," Rothstein said. "With that in mind, stores recognize they have a chance to wow a broader customer base."

She noted that some of the outlet stores were planning to as early — or late — as 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving in response to the fact that "people keep showing up earlier and earlier each year." Stores are also being encouraged to maintain Black Friday price-slashing through the weekend.

"Black Friday is this magical day," Rothstein said. "Well, it’s not for everybody. We’ve got stores that have really stepped it up this year on Saturday and Sunday, as well."

Smaller retailers were hoping for a prosperous holiday season, too. Carolyn Lackner Baird, owner of Brownsville jeweler R.L. Lackner, was keeping her fingers crossed for a boost after what she described as "slow as expected sales" last year — not terrible, but slower than the previous year. At the same time, Baird wasn’t as preoccupied with Black Friday as the big retailers.

"It is strictly a mall phenomenon," she said. "It doesn’t happen to small retailers like that. I’ve never had a day after Thanksgiving Day in which I was just completely inundated with customers. We don’t have the marketing behind us to promote us as ‘come get the pair of diamond earrings you’ll never see again.’ "