Black Friday may not be what it used to be, but the tradition endures

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The feast is over, and people are now turning to another Thanksgiving tradition: shopping.

Black Friday is here, and while it’s still one of the biggest shopping days of the year, some experts say the day isn’t as important as it used to be for retailers.

The day used to be marked by retailer deals you couldn’t find any other time than Thanksgiving weekend. Now, however, many retailers have made their Black Friday deals available days, if not weeks, earlier.

Experts say that extending the sale from well before Black Friday all the way right up to Christmas allows consumers to spread out their spending. They say that’s especially important as people are still dealing with the effects of inflation, despite it slowing to 3.2 percent in October.

By extending the sales both forward and back, many retailers are realizing they are able to be closed on Thanksgiving Day itself, which had become an unofficial extension of Black Friday with stores opening in the early evening.

“Consumers today are really noticing that, post-COVID, a lot of stores were closed around the holiday, and they’ve continued that tradition,” says Jennifer Siemens, associate professor of marketing at Clemson University.

“So in regard to consumer health and well-being, I think we’re seeing a real trend of it being important for retailers and brands to do these things that really ultimately are not going to affect the bottom line too much, but really show consumers that they care.”

Experts also say the earlier deals appeal to consumers who don’t want to worry that that “perfect gift” will go out of stock.

Consumer confidence has also declined month over month from August to October.

“Uncertainty about the future is the thing that most influences consumers’ willingness to spend and their decisions on spending will have a lot to do with the level of uncertainty,” says John Talbott with the Indiana University Center for Education and Research in Retail. “So, for example, it’s not just inflation, it’s war. It’s uncertainty about passing spending bills so the government can stay open. It’s El Nino, the weather. It’s credit card debt being at a high level for many households. It’s ‘are we paying student loans or are we not paying student loans?’ “

Despite the uncertainty, analysts are predicting growth in holiday spending this year.

Ohioans are predicted to spend $32.2 billion at retail this holiday season, a .7 percent increase over last year, according to the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants.

The national forecast is even more promising, with a predicted 3-4 percent increase in sales. The National Retail Federation predicts a 7-9 percent increase in online spending this holiday season.

It’s not all good predictions for Ohio, however. The forecast is also predicting a decrease in sales in two metro areas: a more than 4 percent decrease in Cleveland, and a .8 percent drop here in the Dayton area.