Black Friday Discounts May Be an Illusion
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Monkey Business Images/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — More than ever, Black Friday shopping could be a cat and mouse game between retailers and consumers. “Retail theater,” The Wall Street Journal calls it.
The Journal notes that retailers often put higher regular prices on goods with the intention of marking them down to show a savings.
Those who use their smartphones to find the deepest discounts may not always get the lowest possible price. Retailers are fighting back against showrooming — when shoppers check out goods at a brick and mortar store and then buy them online.
“Retailers have accepted that showrooming is the new reality and they’re adopting some strategies to deal with it,” says Jenn Markey, vice president of marketing for the price comparison firm 360pi. “If you go into the store there’s often store promotions that you wouldn’t necessarily see online.”
Another strategy being used by retailers includes selling “a lot of private label goods.”
There will be dozens of 25 percent off or 40 percent off signs greeting shoppers on Friday. But that doesn’t mean the deals on that day will be any better than during the rest of the holiday season.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio