Black Friday Deals

Wal-Mart fired up its discount engine early; many malls kicked off midnight sales. Will shortages of hot products put shoppers in a bad mood?

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bargain-hungry shoppers raced to malls as early as midnight to be the first in line to grab the best of retailers' so-called doorbuster deals on Black Friday, the kickoff of the 2006 holiday shopping season.
Some malls around the country ignited the shopping frenzy at the stroke of midnight as Thanksgiving turns into Black Friday.
The Citadel Outlets Center in L.A. County held a "Moonlight Madness" event this year with some stores opening their doors at 11:00 p.m. Thursday.
Anita Boeker, Citadel Outlets' marketing director, told CNNMoney.com that the Old Navy store already had a long line of people in front of it by 11:30 p.m. Thursday.
"By the time the store opened, they were facing overcapacity," she said. "Our parking lots are filling up quickly and it's only 3:00 a.m."
Holiday shoppers will see a clearly defined battle line this Black Friday: Wal-Mart on one side, everybody else on the other.
Impatient shoppers were chanting "Open the door" shortly before a 5:00 a.m. opening at a Wal-Mart store in Union, New Jersey. As expected, toys and electronics were the busiest areas in the Wal-Mart store.
Wal-Mart (Charts), the world largest retailer, unveiled its big holiday deals weeks ahead of Black Friday, slashing prices on popular merchandise such as toys, electronics (including a 42-inch Plasma HDTV for $988) and a variety of home appliances.
Wal-Mart then announced a slew of further discounts at midnight on Thanksgiving morning, including XBOX 360s for $399 and KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixers for $149.
One of the most sought-after items Friday was a 20-inch flatscreen Symphonic TV for $68.97.
The day after Thanksgiving is dubbed "Black Friday" because it's when retailers are said to finally move out of the red, representing losses, and into the black, indicating profits.
It also marks the start of the four-week gift-buying shopping blitz leading up to Christmas.
For retailers, November and December sales are critical because the two months together account for as much as 50 percent of their profits and sales.
Eager to capture early holiday sales momentum, merchants battle each other on Black Friday by offering steep discounts on the season's hottest products in a bid to lure bargain-hungry shoppers and lock in critical holiday dollars.
What's the outlook for this year? Good but not great.
Despite concerns that a cooling housing market has made homeowners feel less wealthy and less inclined to shop, overall retail sales have increased so far this year.
According to some retail analysts, consistent income growth combined with the recently falling gas prices helped offset the negative housing effect and should continue to be a spending catalyst in the coming weeks. (Full story)
Nevertheless, the National Retail Federation (NRF), the industry's largest trade group, estimates holiday sales will grow 5 percent to $457.4 billion, slower than last year's 6.1 percent increase.
The NRF expects about 137 million shoppers will hit stores over the three-day Thanksgiving weekend.
Shoppers are getting stung as stores already post 'out of stock' signs on some of the hottest holiday items like T.M.X. Elmo, PlayStation 3, Wii and some plasma TVs.(Full Story)
Even though retailers say they'll restock these must-have gifts throughout the season, given that demand for these item is clearly outstripping supply, there's no guarantee that you'll find any of these products in time for Christmas.
But the 10th-anniversary version of the furry red doll is available on eBay if you don't mind paying double or triple its original price of $39.99.
E-tailers are already projected to have a stellar season this year, but industry watchers expect in-store shortages could also help pump up traffic and sales at many Web sites.
ComScore Networks estimates online retail sales over the Thanksgiving weekend are forecast to reach $1.15 billion, up 24 percent from the same period last year, while total holiday-related buying on the Internet is forecast to jump 24 percent to more than $24 billion.