Sales put meaning of Thanksgiving on hold

In the midst of a bloody Civil War, Abraham Lincoln declared that Americans should spend the last Thursday of November celebrating Thanksgiving to reflect on all the things they were thankful for.

But in the midst of what might be a long national recession, retailers have paid little attention to the fall holiday. Instead, they have focused their efforts on getting shoppers to buy holiday gifts before they’ve even taken a single bite of turkey.

K-Mart started holiday promotions earlier this month. Target and Wal-Mart have been battling it out for customers looking to buy toys. Loyal Macy’s customers (and the not-so-loyal ones) have been flooded with postcards and brochures for myriad sales throughout the month of November.

Online retailers are sending text messages and

e-mail alerts letting shoppers know about a variety of deals from free shipping to the cheapest prices. The deals constantly change and don’t last long, in hopes that it will create urgency among shoppers.

Think it’s too early to even talk about holiday shopping? Many people think otherwise: About 40 percent of consumers made plans to start holiday shopping before Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation’s Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. About the same percentage of people are hunting for bargains.

And, let’s face it, retailers believe they don’t have much to be thankful about these days. With the exception of discount retailers such as Wal-Mart and Costco, most retailers have seen slumping sales over the past few months. Most industry forecasts predict declining sales for the holiday shopping season.

The early promotions, however, won’t erode the sales that traditionally come the day after Thanksgiving, known in the industry as “Black Friday.”  There are plenty of Web sites posting ads showing what retailers plan to offer that day.

Though many consumers already have started their holiday gift shopping, they are far from finished. About 72 percent of consumers surveyed have completed less than 10 percent of their shopping, according to the same survey from the National Retail Federation, an indicator that Black Friday will still be an important day for retailers looking to defy gloomy holiday predictions.

So while retailers will still close on Thanksgiving, some will reopen as early as midnight Thursday, leaving little time to reflect on what to be thankful for.

Sorry, Abraham Lincoln.

• Do you plan on enduring the long lines, early hours and big crowds to get a discount on your much desired products? Or do you plan to avoid it completely?

Either way, I want to hear from you. If you’re willing to talk to me about the reasons you are or are not going to participate in Black Friday, e-mail or call me (Contact information is at the end of this column).

• Can’t wait until next week for another holiday notebook? Check out my blog, Shop Talk (www.yakimaherald.com/shoptalk) for a daily dose of retail and restaurant news and trends.

Until next week, happy shopping and Happy Thanksgiving.

• Mai Hoang’s Reporter’s Notebook is published each Friday throughout the holiday shopping season. She can be reached at 577-7685 or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.

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