JCPenney Gets A Jump On Black Friday Deals
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Retailers gear up for stiffer competition for Black Friday sales.
A recent study found that shopper habits are changing, spreading spending over a longer period of time and taking power away from Black Friday as the biggest day of holiday shopping. Essentially, retailers need to start approaching the holiday season as an evolving one, in which Black Friday may not be the single saving grace that it has been in the past. Shoppers want more flexible, convenient options to fulfill their Christmas wish-lists, and retailers need to be willing to provide them.
To meet this challenge, JCPenney is getting a jump on Black Friday deals, hoping to win over more sales from its traditional Black Friday shoppers. The 1,020-unit chain has announced that it will launch select Black Friday deals and promotions early this month to help shoppers get a jump on their holiday shopping.
“We’re going to kick it off early this year,” explained Mary Beth West, executive vice-president chief customer and marketing officer of JCPenney. “We are going to give customers who want to shop early the opportunity to get some of those exciting deals.”
According to West, industry research demonstrates that half of all consumers plan to purchase at least one gift before Thanksgiving Day. To address that trend, JCPenney will allow consumers to access all of its Black Friday promotions online on Wednesday, November 23 – a full day earlier than last year.
And JCPenney is not the only retailer getting a jump on holiday deals: Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart are all offering early Black Friday promotions.
Amazon has launched a “Dedicated Black Friday Deals” store that offers new promotions every five minutes through December 22nd. Doug Herrington, SVP of North American Retail at Amazon explained, “Customers love discovering the best deals on the most sought-after products, and our Black Friday Deals Store and curated Holiday Gift Guides offer them a place to do just that – plus enjoy the most convenient shopping experience with tons of super-fast shipping options.”
Walmart is also offering plenty of early deals on its Black Friday 2016 page, while Best Buy is doing the same with Daily Deals.