Cautious Black Friday shoppers flock to stores

Focus on necessities
At a Milwaukee Wal-Mart store, Shirley Jackson, a technician, arrived at about 8 a.m., too late to get a 42-inch Polaroid HDTV selling for $598. Instead she focused on the necessities, buying shoes and pajamas for her family and stocking up on 500-threadcount sheets discounted to $20 from $70.

“It’s just as well I didn’t get the TV. I have to focus on what I need — I need sheets, I need groceries,” said Jackson, who’s in her 40s. “I’m spending a whole lot less this year. I have bills to pay, and I don’t want to have it come down to choosing between buying medicine and buying groceries.”

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, received its name because it historically was the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into profitability — into the black — for the full year.

But this year, with rampant promotions of up to 70 percent throughout the month amid a deteriorating economy, the power of this landmark day for the retail industry could be fading.

Still, while Black Friday isn’t a predictor of holiday sales, it’s an important barometer of people’s willingness to spend for the rest of the season. This year, industry executives are taking note of how the economy is shaping buying habits.

Hoffman noted that based on reports from retailers, children’s clothing is faring better than adult clothing as parents focus on their young ones.

Karen McDonald, spokeswoman at Taubman, which operates 24 malls in 13 states, said sales of small home appliances like pots and pans as well as coffee makers did well Friday, indicating that people are staying closer to home and are wanting to buy more necessities. She added that children’s and teen apparel also fared well.

Shoppers have eye out for deals
Terry J. Lundgren, chairman and chief executive of Macy’s Inc., reported about 5,000 shoppers in line for the 5 a.m. opening at the New York flagship store, at least as many as a year ago. But he also agreed that shoppers are focusing more on basics. He noted that heavily discounted coats and anything cashmere, including basic sweaters and gloves, were selling out, while houseware products like single-serve coffee makers fared well.

What are your shopping tips? What are your suggestions for a frugal holiday?

Sales of flat-screen TVs, which had seen a slowdown in recent weeks, were a big attraction, but they were heavily discounted, according to reports from Sears Holdings Corp. and Best Buy Co. Tom Aiello, a spokesman at Sears Holdings, which operates Sears Roebuck and Co., and Kmart, said that as of noon Friday, both chains were beginning to sell out of TVs, including a 46-inch Sharp TV, at $899, down from $1,399.

Chuck O’Donnell, a manager at the Best Buy store in West Paterson, N.J., said that video games did especially well as shoppers focus on items that can be enjoyed by the entire family.

As for traditional toys, Toys “R” Us Chief Executive Jerry Storch pointed out that customers were either looking for bargains or the hot, hard-to-find toys like Fisher-Price’s Elmo Live and Spin Master Ltd.’s Bakugan. He added that the $139 Spike a radio-controlled dinosaur from Fisher-Price was faring well.

“What kids want are the hot toys,” he said. “It’s not about the cheap toy.”

James Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide, however, noted that parents are focusing on deals. “The magic price was anything under $15,” he said.

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