Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Shoppers seek Black Friday deals earlier

NEW YORK -- Bargain hunters are getting antsy when it comes to researching deals online for the day after Thanksgiving, according to Experian Hitwise, a Web traffic measurement company.

Shoppers started Web searches in August speculating on which products may have the biggest discounts that day, the holiday shopping season's traditional beginning.

In 2006, the searches took place over nine weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday, growing to 14 weeks in 2007 and 16 weeks in 2008 and a similar period this year.

Experian Hitwise also found that the number of variations including the term "Black Friday" have soared as well, increasing 41 percent year over year to reach 7,822 different combinations for the week ending Nov. 29, 2008.

The day after Thanksgiving - called Black Friday because it was considered the day retailers began turning a profit for the full year - has lost importance both for stores and consumers in recent years as merchants started promoting deep discounts and expanded hours earlier.

Shop and help a charity

NEW YORK High-end department stores are hoping to hitch a ride on altruism this holiday season: Buy gifts here, they offer, and we'll send some of the proceeds to the poor, sick and hungry.

At Bloomingdale's, part of the proceeds from products such as a new $35 cookbook by Florence Fabricant and an $18 Little Brown Bear go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and juvenile diabetes research, among other causes.

"We thought our customers are looking for gifts that give back this year in a bigger way," said spokeswoman Liz McGovern.

At Saks Inc., 5 percent of sales of New York Candy Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue Collection treats - which it's pushing with displays and signs by main store entrances - go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

And $2 from the sale of each of the luxury department store's limited-edition children's book, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Flake," which retails for $17.99, will go to St. Jude's "Thanks and Giving" campaign.

Nordstrom Inc., based in Seattle, will give a flat $10,000 to Friends of Libraries USA in conjunction with selling its holiday children's book, "Once Upon a Holiday: The Moon Fell Out of the Sky," which goes for $6.90.

As customers get used to discounts, an altruistic lure helps sales, said Ted Hurlbut of Hurlbut & Associates, a retail consultancy in Foxboro, Mass. Shoppers get "a sense of goodwill because there is this program they can participate in; they're more likely to be inclined to spend some money."