Retailers Ready as Black Friday Shoppers Flock to Catch Deals
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Bargain hunters are out in force Friday as US retailers kick off the holiday shopping season on the always-zany "Black Friday."
Something new to the Black Friday antics, a number of retailers, including Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Macy's (NYSE: M), opened doors at midnight. While the move had hardcore shoppers waking up even earlier (or staying up later) than on earlier Black Friday's, a number of locations are now reporting the initial rush has slackened to a trickle, suggesting the earlier open may not have done much to increase spending.
Hot items included steeply-discounted LCD TV's at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Target (NYSE: TGT), the NOOK from Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and as expected, any of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) devices. At Apple stores, the iPad 2 is being sold at an 8 percent discount, the iPod Touch is being sold at an 11 percent discount, and the MacBook Air has about a 10 percent haircut on its price.
In an attempt to lessen or prevent the madness which is often tied to Black Friday shopping -- customers wrestling tug-of-war style for thee last Tickle Me Elmo in the tri-state area -- some retailers issued "Doorbuster" tickets to patient shoppers who waited in lines outside of stores. The tickets were used for limited-item deals such as Best Buy’s $200 Sharp 42-inch TV.
While it's still too early to sum up the overall performance of this year's Black Friday, early data from NPD suggests shoppers are spending about the same as last year. The research firm reportedly visited retail locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is up about 0.2 percent at last check Friday.
Something new to the Black Friday antics, a number of retailers, including Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Macy's (NYSE: M), opened doors at midnight. While the move had hardcore shoppers waking up even earlier (or staying up later) than on earlier Black Friday's, a number of locations are now reporting the initial rush has slackened to a trickle, suggesting the earlier open may not have done much to increase spending.
Hot items included steeply-discounted LCD TV's at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Target (NYSE: TGT), the NOOK from Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and as expected, any of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) devices. At Apple stores, the iPad 2 is being sold at an 8 percent discount, the iPod Touch is being sold at an 11 percent discount, and the MacBook Air has about a 10 percent haircut on its price.
In an attempt to lessen or prevent the madness which is often tied to Black Friday shopping -- customers wrestling tug-of-war style for thee last Tickle Me Elmo in the tri-state area -- some retailers issued "Doorbuster" tickets to patient shoppers who waited in lines outside of stores. The tickets were used for limited-item deals such as Best Buy’s $200 Sharp 42-inch TV.
While it's still too early to sum up the overall performance of this year's Black Friday, early data from NPD suggests shoppers are spending about the same as last year. The research firm reportedly visited retail locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is up about 0.2 percent at last check Friday.
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