Some cut short Thanksgiving, get in lines

Christmas shoppers looking for “Black Friday” deals got a head start on their lists this year as multiple retailers pushed their opening times back into Thanksgiving Day.

Christmas is the biggest annual event on retailers’ calendar, and for many of them, it’s the time of year when they become profitable, or “in the black.”

The National Retail Federation forecasts that shoppers will, on average, spend $749.51 on gifts, decor and greeting cards this year, little changed from the $740.57 they spent last year. The forecast is based on a survey by research firm BIGinsight.

The federation is forecasting that Christmas spending will increase 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion.

“We’ve seen this pattern of cautious optimism all year, and despite the challenges that still exist in our economy, it looks as if consumers are eager to celebrate with friends and family,” Matthew Shay, National Retail Federation president and chief executive officer, said when the survey results were released.

Of those polled, 52.3 percent said the economy would affect their spending plans, down from 62.2 percent in last year’s survey.

More than half said they would shop online, a new high for the annual poll. The National Retail Federation’s digital division, shop. org, forecasts that online Christmas sales will grow by $96 billion, a 12 percent increase.

At the Target store at the Pinnacle Hills Promenade in Rogers on Thanksgiving Day, Maria Trejo of Lowell had arrived at 8 a.m. with her son Emanuel, 14, and daughters Yessenia, 11, and Diana, 6. She was surprised to be first in line. The store didn’t open until 9 p.m.

Last year, she said, she arrived at 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and had a long line ahead of her. She had her eyes on a 32-inch television priced at $148 and an iPod for $198 that came with a $50 gift card.

Despite being first in line, she wasn’t entirely happy.

“It doesn’t seem like Black Friday now,” she said.

At the Cabela’s outdoor store nearby, Matthew Landers of Centerton was waiting to purchase a rifle. Cabela’s had special pricing for the first 600 customers in line, including a $100 gift card.

“I just thought it’d be fun to camp out,” he said Thursday.

It was sprinkling at the time, and Cabela’s “door-buster” didn’t start until 5 a.m. Friday.

“I have to sleep out here, so I’m really hoping this goes away,” he said of the rain. The Ruger 10/22 Takedown rifle was priced at $279.99, a $70 markdown.

Josh Gross of Rogers had his eye on the same rifle. He said Thursday was the first time he had gone out early for a Black Friday sale.

Nearby at the Best Buy store, a 40-inch Toshiba television priced at $179.99 had attracted several of the shoppers waiting in line. Among them were Carlos and Cynthia Toyco of Rogers, who arrived at the store at 8:45 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The store opened at midnight.

“I like it because there’s less competition,” Carlos Toyco said of the moved-up sale times.

“It has its ups and downs,” added Cynthia Toyco. “It’s good that there’s less traffic. But it takes away from Thanksgiving.”

Juan Carlos Hernandez was after the same deal, saying simply, “that’s cheap.” He also was looking for an Xbox 360 gaming console.

On Thursday afternoon, Christine Cole of Springdale said she had been outside since 8:45 a.m. Thanksgiving Day in hopes of purchasing two laptop computers.

“I’m out here to save $400 altogether,” she said.

Bill Mattler of Gravette was outside Best Buy on Thursday afternoon also looking to buy a 40-inch Toshiba or maybe a 50-inch model.

“I’m all about getting a good deal, but I’m not too fond of this Thanksgiving stuff,” he said.

Charles Henbest was hoping to get the Panasonic 3D model TV priced at $899. He said Thursday that this year was his first to wait in a line the day before Black Friday.

“Probably head to Wal-Mart after this,” he said.

Increasingly this year, Black Friday sales encroached on Thanksgiving Day. Wal-Mart supercenters typically are open 24 hours a day, and the giant retailer staggered saletimes for particular categories this year.

Protests at some Wal-Mart stores around the country, organized by union-backed groups to object to employee compensation and working conditions, failed to deter shoppers as the retailer reported larger Black Friday crowds than last year.

In Little Rock, about a dozen protesters stood outside the Wal-Mart store at Bowman Road and Chenal Parkway around noon. Members of Occupy Little Rock and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union handed fliers to motorists entering the parking lot, urging them to tell Wal-Mart it is “wrong to silence its workers.”

However, there was no sign of any protesters at midafternoon at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville or at the Wal-Mart store closest to theheadquarters.

Last week, Wal-Mart sought an injunction from the National Labor Relations Board to stop the protests, but the agency said Friday that it was a complex issue and no ruling would be made until next week.

Other retailers were free of such problems.

Sears and Toys R Us were among the stores opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, followed at 9 p.m. by Target. Best Buy, Macy’s, and Kohl’s opened at midnight Thursday.

Research by Ryan Levesque of Austin, Texas, who runs several marketing firms - including LTP Marketing LLC - found that two-thirds of those polled said retailers had “gone too far” pushing Black Friday sales back into Thursday. The sentiment was even more pronounced among the baby-boomer generation, at 79 percent.

“It seems like they’re earlier and earlier,” Levesque said. “Do the dishes and wait in line is what some people will be doing this year,” he said earlier this week.

Only half of the 18-24 age bracket objected to the Thanksgiving openings. But Levesque noted that the boomer generation has considerably morespending power than does the younger group.

Research firm Accenture’s shopping survey found that consumers expect to spend an average of $582 Christmas shopping this year and that 23 percent of those polled intend to spend more than $750. Fifty-one percent of those polled said they will pay for their purchases with cash, up from 45 percent a year ago.

Thirty-three percent said they would use credit cards for Christmas purchases, down from 47 percent last year.

“Self-sacrificing will be down, and spending will be slightly up. However, our research also shows that shoppers will remain disciplined in their spending,” Chris Donnelly, managing director of Accenture’s retail practice, said in a news release.

Thomson Reuters research found that retail analysts’ projections for the quarter that includes most Christmas shopping have risen in recent weeks from a 1.5 percent yearover-year rise to 1.9 percent for stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales.

The biggest gains, according to the research, are likely to be in footwear, at 5.4 percent, and jewelry, 5.1 percent.

A consumer tracking survey by The International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group, and investment firm Goldman Sachs found that 17 percent of consumers, or 41 million people, intended to take advantage of the Thanksgiving Day shopping hours.

Of those planning to shop on Thanksgiving Day, onethird cited the opportunity to find bargains earlier. Others cited expectations that crowds would be smaller than usual on Black Friday.

Research firm Customer Growth Partners of New Canaan, Conn., forecast a sluggish 2.8 percent increase in holiday sales.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/24/2012

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