Best Buy is offering a Black Friday VIP contest to shoppers in 25 cities. To enter shoppers have to write a short 250 words or less essay about what they are most excited about this Black Friday. Best Buy ran a similar contest last year. Pictured above is one of last year's winners arriving at a Best Buy on Black Friday, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.
One winner from each of the 25 eligible markets will win a $1,000 Best Buy Gift Card. They will also win VIP treatment, which Best Buy describes as "a limousine ride to and from the designated Best Buy store, special seating outside for the winner and three special guests, and early admittance into the store at 4:30 a.m." Each winner will also receive an Insignia Digital Camcorder to document their experience. Details and rules can be found at bestbuyvipcontest.com. The participating markets include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, DC.
Best Buy is also offering prizes to people who are the first in line at its stores in the 25 markets mentioned above. Mystery gift cards ranging in value from $5 to $25 (and one worth $100) will be distributed to the first 50 people in line on Black Friday morning.
$99 Blu-ray Players Likely on Black Friday; $49 Deal a Possibility
Last year the lowest Blu-ray player available on Black Friday was around $149 and this was for an off-brand unit. Video Business has an article that says this year Blu-ray players will dip much lower. Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis, tells Video Business that $99 Blu-ray deals are likely and a $49 Black Friday Blu-ray player deal is "conceivable."
"The streaming products have been popular where they've accounted for a greater portion of the Blu-ray player units sold," added Rubin.
With mass pricing already dipping to below $200 on brand-name models, Rubin doesn't think it is out of the question to see $49 Blu-ray player offers around Black Friday.
"It's conceivable we could see a $49 Blu-ray player on Black Friday, but I think we'll see more $99 deals," said Rubin. "Anything is possible."
Another Video Businessstory about Blu-ray Black Friday deals says Sears Black Friday deals which leaked promise Sony and Samsung Blu-ray models for $149. The article says several industry insiders expect retailers to offer $99 players from major brands.
Sears is starting its Black Friday deals early. They will offer them weekly with layaway options starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing every Saturday until Christmas. A sample of Sears "Black Friday Now" deals for Saturday, October 31st include:
50 percent off (save $200) Craftsman? 302-piece mechanic's tool sets
$174.19 (reg. $259.99) 7 1/2 ft. Wakefield Christmas tree with 700 Never
Out(TM) clear or multi lights
50 percent off all DieHard workboots (reg. $75.00) and $19.99 (reg.
$39.99) on all Covington low-shaft boots
$399.99 closeout (reg. $699.99) ProForma XP elliptical 16-in stride
length
All of Sears "Black Friday Now" events will occur on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until
12 p.m. local time except for this week. Due to Halloween, doorbusters will
start on Friday (Oct. 30) at 5 p.m. as a preview event through Saturday 12
p.m. local time.
On Nov. 7th, as part of "Black Friday Now" deals, Sears will exclusively offer a 42" Zenith Plasma TV for only $499 (reg. $649.99). Customers can pre-order this great deal as of Oct. 29 on Sears.com - see here.
The above information was gleamed from a Sears press release. There are also websites saying Sears ads for Black Friday, November 27th have leaked - see here, here and here. The leaked ads are probably legit since it sounds like Sears had a very comprehensive Black Friday strategy with its "Black Friday Now" deals. However, retailers can always change Black Friday ads and the actual Blacky Friday deals may be different from what you found on the Black Friday websites and forums.
Black Friday Online Offers Likely to Expand in 2009
The Yahoo Advertising Blog reports that Black Friday is becoming a lot like Cyber Monday when it comes to online deals and sales. They say, "Black Friday is the New Cyber Monday." Yahoo writes, "When compared with the average day in November, Black Friday showed a 147% increase in conversions, while Cyber Monday had a 73% increase in conversions."
The report showed that not only is Cyber Monday still a top online shopping day, but that the traditional offline shopping day Black Friday also proved to be a significant day for online sales conversions. In fact, online retailers experienced a greater percentage increase in conversions on Black Friday than they did on Cyber Monday.
Those shopping online last year likely noticed that there were many online offers on Black Friday as well as the bargains in bricks and mortar stores. Some retailers also started online deals on Black Friday that stretched through Monday. The trend will probably continue this year with Black Friday becoming an even bigger online event. The online deals offered on Black Friday won't completely drown out Cyber Monday though. The National Retail Federation owns the popular CyberMonday.com destination which lists Cyber Monday offers. They will continue to promote the site and encourage retailers to list deals and promotions. Cyber Monday also works better for online shopping for a lot of people than Black Friday or the weekend because they can shop from their desks at work following the Thanksgiving holiday. For this reason alone Cyber Monday won't fade away anytime soon.
Black Friday Ads Will Start Leaking in a Couple Weeks
It's time to start thinking about Black Friday. Soon the deals will be leaking and within a few weeks people will start making plans. PC World has an article about Black Friday that says BFAds recently sent out an email that they expect Black Friday ads to began rolling in within a couple weeks.
BFAds, a site that sends subscribers e-mail messages about Black Friday bargains, today fired off its first seasonal mailing. "We expect the ads to start trickling in within the next couple of weeks, and become a daily ordeal come November," wrote BFAds founder and president Michael Brim.
It will be hard for Black Friday ads not to underwhelm, especially when it comes to gadgets. BFAds founder Michael Brim told PC World that there's not a lot of "wiggle room" left on some electronics for retailers to offer huge discounts.
"It's not out of the norm to see a weekly ad with a computer for $400. Let's say Best Buy offers a computer for $300. That's 25 percent off, but when you look at the absolute value, it's only $100 off. People will think, 'It's not that good,'" Brim says. "Unless (retailers) take a huge hit on these loss-leaders, there's just not that much wiggle room anymore."
DealNews.com CEO Dan de Grandpre told PC World that he thinks the deals will be similar to 2008's and that some of the best deals may run ahead of Black Friday.
Dan de Grandpre, CEO of dealnews.com, believe this year's Black Friday deal will be very similar to 2008's. "As with last year, the best time to buy the item you need may not be on Black Friday itself. Instead, it's just as likely to be days or even a week or two before the actual event," he says.
Consumers should consider taking advantage of some deals earlier, such as the Bricktober Lego offers that Toys "R" Us is running in October, and Walmart's ongoing $10 toy offers. Some retailers are stocking less inventory and there will be supply issues with some products, leaving consumers buying late forced to third-party sellers where they will have to pay more if they want the season's hot toy or gadget. There will definitely still be some of the big "door busters" this year - which really need to be renamed after last year's incident - that will bring people into stores on Black Friday, November 27th, 2009.
Wal-Mart Promises Safety Improvements Following Black Friday Death
Wal-Mart will pay $1.4 million to Nassau County's social services and
$400,000 to create a victims' fund over last year's Black Friday death at a Wal-Mart store. By doing this Wal-Mart also avoids felony charges in the Black Friday stampede case. The retailer also promised to improve safety oversight to help prevent further tragedies as shoppers rush to get advertised bargains.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Wednesday the retailer will donate $1.5 million to the county's social services, create a $400,000 victims' fund and devise an independently approved crowd management plan for post-Thanksgiving sales at its 92 New York stores.
Rice, who suspended the criminal investigation of the stampede as a condition of the agreement, said Wal-Mart would have faced a maximum fine of $10,000 had it been convicted of a felony. The retailer made no admission of guilt.
Prosecutors can reopen the case if the company fails to comply with the terms of the agreement in the next three years.
"Rather than bringing the world's largest retailer to court and imposing a small fine against them, I felt it was important to require significant safety changes that will affect the whole state," Rice said.
Hank Mullany, Wal-Mart's northeast division president, said, "We are saddened by the tragic event that occurred at our Valley Stream store last year. We are committed to learning from it and making our stores even safer for our customers. Today is an important step."
The family of Jdimytai Damour is unhappy with the terms of the settlement. They wanted criminal charges for Wal-Mart.
For the next Black Friday, Wal-mart and other discounters need to hire outside security, require orderly lines to form outside the store and should monitor how many people can enter the store at once. This worker's death is a tragedy should never be repeated.
Wal-Mart To Pay $2 Million Over Black Friday Stampede Death
USA Todayreports that Wal-Mart is going to spend $2 million to improve safety at 92 New York Wal-Mart stores over the death of temporary employee Jdimytai Damour on Black Friday last year. Jdimytai Damour was trampled when a sea of two thousand shoppers stormed a Long Island Walmart as its doors opened at 5 a.m. on Black Friday. The settlement allows Wal-Mart to avoid criminal charges.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that if she had brought criminal charges against the store in the worker’s death, it would have been subject to only a $10,000 fine if convicted.
Instead, the AP reports, Rice said Wal-Mart has agreed to implement an improved crowd-management plan for the "Black Friday" sales, set up a $400,000 victims’ compensation and remuneration fund, and give $1.5 million to Nassau County social services programs and nonprofit groups.
The New York Daily Newssays Jdimytai Damour's family is not happy with the settlement and rejected it as "shameful." Hopefully, Wal-Mart will do more to prepare for Black Friday in other states as well. The New York stores were not the only Wal-Mart stores will out-of-control crowds on Black Friday last year.
Police Provide Recommendations for Stores to Implement Following Black Friday Death
Several news outlets here, here and here are reporting that the Nassau County police has issued a set of recommendations for stores to follow when they hold big sales to prevent incidents like last year's Black Friday death. The Nassau County police say they will provide support whenever it is needed but that the overall responsibility lies with the stores. The police said, "the responsibility for the security and control of these sales events rests with the store. Store administrators should never market a sales event without having a plan, and the proper resources to manage it."
The recommendations come after a temporary Walmart employee Jdimytai Damour was trampled and killed by a large crowd of 2,000 shoppers at a Walmart store early in the morning on Black Friday, December 1st.
Here's a list of some of the recommendations from the police report:
Setting up barricades and/or rope lines to manage crowds ahead of the sale
Handing out wristbands or numbered tickets to shoppers
Positioning store employees in the parking lot and giving them radios so they can share information.
Stores should have shoppers enter the stores in smaller groups
Retailers should provide shoppers with maps showing where to find the hottest sale items.
Patrons should be kept out once the store reaches maximum occupancy.
Phone police if crowds get unruly
Police also said stores should plan whom to call in a medical emergency but they should also have defibrillators on hand and train staffers in how to use them.
Those all sound like great ideas. We will see if any of them are implemented by Walmart and other retailers on Black Friday next year. We would also like to see retailers stop using the word "door busters" - no need to suggest shoppers break down the doors to get to the sales.
The family of Jdimytai Damour, the worker who was trampled to death on Black Friday, is suing
Wal-Mart, the security company and the owner of the property for wrongful death. The lawsuit alleges that the store ads "created an atmosphere of competition and anxiety" that led to "crowd craze."
The lawsuit claims that besides failing to provide adequate security for a pre-dawn crowd estimated at 2,000, Wal-Mart "engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem and was otherwise careless, reckless and negligent."
Wal-Mart issued a statement saying it would cooperate with local law enforcement officials to develop stronger safety measures for the future.
"We consider Mr. Damour part of the Wal-Mart family, and are saddened by his death," the statement said. "We have been in communication with members of his family to do what we can to help them through this difficult time. Our associates know that when incidents like this occur, we take care of our own."
*****
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound man died of asphyxiation after being crushed early Friday morning by the crowd, which broke down the electronic doors in frantic pursuit of bargains. At least four other people were treated at hospitals, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.
The entire incident is horrifying. We think that this case is going to lead to changes in how retailers advertise and monitor future Black Friday sales. Best Buy, for example, hands out tickets beforehand to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen. This should become standard practice, in our opinion.
Cyber Monday: Retailers Ready With Coupons, Discounts and Free Shipping
Black Friday has come and gone but the virtual version of Black Friday - known as Cyber Monday - is tomorrow, December 1st, 2008. Cyber Monday is when online retailers offer coupons, discounts and free shipping offers. It's a good day for consumers who can get some holiday shopping done and save some money at the same time. There will continue to be deals throughout December but they generally aren't quite as good as the offers you can find on Cyber Monday. Here are some Cyber Monday highlights.
The National Retail Federation says nearly 84% of all online retailers will have some kind of Cyber Monday offer. That means you should be able to simply check your favorite retailer's website on Monday and see what they have. You could also subscribe to the retailer's newsletter or follow them on Twitter to make sure you catch any coupons and deals.
Black Friday traffic was up 10% over last year according to Nielsen Online but Black Friday online sales were up just 1% from the year before. Still the traffic increase could be a positive sign that people are ready to shop online tomorrow.
Circuit City and Best Buy have already kicked off their Cyber Monday sales. They aren't alone as some retailers have been running deals from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Other retailers will have special offerings for Cyber Monday only that will be announced tomorrow.
Regina Lewis, AOL's Consumer Advisor, talked about some of the deals available tomorrow on the Today Show. Regina says Best Buy will be offering iPods and that Amazon will have a one-day watch sale. Regina Lewis also talked to Fox News in this video. She also talks about dynamic pricing.
CNN has a video report that says 73 million workers will be shopping for online deals from
work this year. Most workers search for deals during the lunch hour - at least that's when they say they do the shopping.
The New York Daily News published a feature listing
100 budget-friendly Cyber Monday sites.
Mashable has posted a list of 11 resources that help you find Cyber Monday deals.
The Huffington Post blogs the emergence of a Green Tuesday trend. The idea - said to be spearheaded by Ideal Bite - involves offering discounted green products to shoppers on on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
The L.A. Times reports that Cyber Monday makes up about 7% of total retail sales in a video report.
Kmart and Sears have sent out press releases - see here and here -- announcing special Cyber Monday coupons offering $5 off $25. The coupons are "ILOVESEARS" and "ILOVEKMART" - it should be obvious which coupon is for which store.
Be sure you are shopping safely - see resources here, here and here. A couple years ago Jon Stewart joked on the Daily Show that Cyber Monday is followed by Identity Theft Tuesday.
Holiday Shopping Deja Vu: Wii Hot as Ever but Shortages Expected
In the photograph above Santa Claus tries out the latest games for the Wii on Black Friday at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, California. Nintendo is setting up these Wii stations at over 25 malls across the country this holiday.
The push from Nintendo is going to help make a hot product even hotter. Just like last year the Wii is a must-have item. CNET reports that the Wii topped Black Friday searches on both eBay and PriceGrabber. Over 3,000 Wii game consoles were sold on eBay on Black Friday.
The Wii game console was the most searched-for product on eBay, followed by the Wii Fit companion product. Consumers snatched up 3,171 Wiis over eBay, at an average selling price of $349, followed by the Wii Fit, with 1,059 sold at an average selling price of $140.
eBay shows over 11,000 results if you search for a Wii console.
Here were top ten Black Friday searches on PriceGrabber, a shopping comparison website. The list shows the Wii in the top spot and in the 5th spot with the Wii Fit.
Nintendo Wii console
Ugg Australia "classic short" boot
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray disc player
Samsung LN52A650 52" LCD TV
Nintendo Wii Fit
Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42" plasma TV
Sennheiser HD 555 headphones
Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR digital camera kit
Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 notebook PC
Canon PowerShot A590 IS black digital camera
So far there seem to be plenty of Wiis but GameStop's CEO David Carlson has warned he expects to run of out Wiis before the end of the shopping season - see here, here, here and here. This is very similar to what happened with the Wii in 2006 and 2007.
Black Friday sales were up 3% from last year's totals. Shoppers were lured in with deep discounts and of course the infamous "Door Busters."
Sales on the day after Thanksgiving rose to $10.6 billion, according to preliminary figures released Saturday by ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a Chicago-based research firm that tracks sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets.
Last year, shoppers spent about $10.3 billion on the day after Thanksgiving, dubbed Black Friday because it was historically the sales-packed day when retailers would become profitable for the year.
While it isn't a predictor of overall holiday season sales, Black Friday is an important barometer of people's willingness to spend during the holidays. Last year, it was the biggest sales generator of the season.
But experts caution that this year's sales growth may be hard to sustain for the remainder of the holiday shopping season, which has 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas instead of the 32 last year.
Still, the sales boost was surprising in light of data showing shoppers are scaling back on discretionary spending because of a recession fueled by uncertainty related to turmoil in the world's financial and credit markets.
We think the term "Door Busters" should be retired in light of the tragic death of the 34 year old Walmart worker who was trampled by crowds desperate to get inside the store to find a good deal.
Police are looking into the death of 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica, Queens who was pushed to the ground and trampled when a sea of two thousand shoppers stormed a Long Island Walmart as its doors opened at 5 a.m. on Black Friday. Gothamist reports that police say the crowd in the Long Island Walmart was out of control. Detective Lieutenant Michael Fleming says the crowd "overran him and kept running into the store. They pushed right over his body." Gothamist also quotes a couple of shoppers who were at the Walmart. One of the shoppers said the Black Friday shoppers even stepped on police who were trying to help Damour.
Shopper Nakea Augustine, who took photographs of the mass of people, said, "Nobody was trying to help him. They were rushing in the store, rushing, rushing, rushing." A cop said that cops performing CPR on Damour were also stepped on by shoppers. Another shopper said that Wal-Mart employees' pleas to shoppers were ignored, "When they were saying [shoppers] had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, 'I've been on line since Friday morning!' They kept shopping."
A New York Timesarticle contains a brief statement from Walmart about the incident.
A Wal-Mart spokesman, Dan Folgleman, called it a "tragic situation," and said the victim had been hired from a temporary staffing agency and assigned to maintenance work. Wal-Mart, in a statement issued at its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., said: "The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this tragic time."
Bruce Both - who represents Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers - calls Wal-Mart irresponsible.
"Where were the safety barriers?" said Bruce Both, the union president. "Where was security? How did store management not see dangerous numbers of customers barreling down on the store in such an unsafe manner? This is not just tragic; it rises to a level of blatant irresponsibility by Wal-Mart."
The Associated Press reports that charges are possible and police are reviewing surveillance tapes. Police say it may hard to single out those who were responsible. Police also say there was not enough security at that the store.
The Walmart in Long Island has reopened to shoppers but this Black Friday incident needs to be investigated to help make sure that this kind of needless tragedy isn't repeated again this holiday season or again next year. Gizmodo says, "It's sad and despicable, and it's equally the fault of the dehumanized shoppers and the WalMart store it happened at." Newsday article cites psychologists who say these kinds of stampedes are fueled by "fear and greed."
Black Friday arrived very early this morning for many shoppers. A lot of people were at stores early this morning to try and get the doorbuster deals before stores were either out-of-stock or the doorbuster offer expired. Many retailers have online sales and deals today. Check the website of your favorite stores and they are likely to be offering some kind of sale or coupon. After Black Friday the shopping deals will transition to the Internet for Cyber Monday when online retailers offer great deals and people shop from home or work. Here are some highlights of today's big shopping day.
The Apple Store's Black Friday deals were not as big as analysts had expected but people holding out for a MacBook or iPod Touch are probably still happy to have the savings. Barron's Tech Trader Daily blog quotes analysts who had been expecting larger Apple Store Black Friday discounts. Apple also always has the option to offer more deals in December.
You always hope no one is hurt during these intense early morning adventures on Black Friday to get the best deals. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this year. A worker at a Walmart in Long Island was crushed and killed when shoppers stampeded the store. Walmart needs to implement some crowd control methods so this doesn't happen again.
Walmart's website went down early on Black Friday but has been functioning fine since then. Sears.com has also been down some today.
Here's a liveblog of a successful VAIO laptop acquisition at Best Buy. It took the buyer about 2.5 hours from start to finish.
Nike released DJ Clark Kent's "Black Friday" Nike Air Force 1 sneakers today.
Richard Simmons fired up employees at Macy's to get them ready for Black Friday.
A few YouTube videos show the big crowds at Walmart stores early this morning for those who missed it. See here and here. Another video shows a battle for an Xbox 360 package at Walmart.
Amazon.com's Black Friday toy deals today include 50% off Eyeclops Bionic Eye and $100 off Kota the Triceratops.
Here's a video of Richard Simmons getting Macy's employees fired up for Black Friday. He always brings lots of fun, excitement and energy everywhere he goes. Richard also shared OceanSpray's Cranergy energy drink with Macy's employees. (via Sun Suntinel)
Sears is starting its Black Friday deals early. They will offer them weekly with layaway options starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing every Saturday until Christmas. A sample of Sears "Black Friday Now" deals for Saturday, October 31st include:
Several news outlets 
Black Friday has come and gone but the virtual version of Black Friday - known as Cyber Monday - is tomorrow, December 1st, 2008. Cyber Monday is when online retailers offer coupons, discounts and free shipping offers. It's a good day for consumers who can get some holiday shopping done and save some money at the same time. There will continue to be deals throughout December but they generally aren't quite as good as the offers you can find on Cyber Monday. Here are some Cyber Monday highlights.
Black Friday arrived very early this morning for many shoppers. A lot of people were at stores early this morning to try and get the doorbuster deals before stores were either out-of-stock or the doorbuster offer expired. Many retailers have online sales and deals today. Check the website of your favorite stores and they are likely to be offering some kind of sale or coupon. After Black Friday the shopping deals will transition to the Internet for Cyber Monday when online retailers offer great deals and people shop from home or work. Here are some highlights of today's big shopping day.
