LOCAL Retailers brace for Big Black Friday Crowds
City stores bringing in extra inventory in preparation for crush of customers
A decade ago, Black Friday traditionally meant thousands of Windorites heading across the border to score good shopping deals in malls and stores across Michigan. But the shopping frenzy — connected to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend — has since been ignited closer to home in Windsor and across Canada and beyond into what business owners describe as their second busiest retail day of the year after Boxing Day.
“As a border town with American Thanksgiving, it was a natural progression for us,” said Dan Orman, co-owner of Freeds clothing store. “Now you can’t turn on the television without seeing an ad supporting the concept. There is a buzz. It is our busiest day of the year next to Boxing Day.” Planning for the Black Friday weekend began for his store six months ago by securing brand name items at reduced prices, he said.
A primary focus this year has especially been on providing customers great deals on outerwear. “We are bringing brand name outerwear in, like Nautica, at reduced prices, which is a great advantage to our customers,” Orman said.
Increasingly, shoppers in pursuit of Black Friday bargains are turning to making purchases online — so Freeds has also moved in that direction to match the demand. But after 90 years in a “brick and mortar” business, clothes shopping very much remains a “touch and feel” enterprise for most customers at Freeds, he said.
It is anticipated up to 100 customers will be in line when Tepperman’s opens its furniture store at 7 a.m. for Black Friday, said president Andrew Tepperman. “Up until a few years ago, Windsor was among the few border cities offering Black Friday deals, but now it’s pretty much everywhere (in Canada) — and it’s not slowing down,” he said.
His store in preparation has moved to offer deals on products that are different from what it might normally carry and also stacked up on inventory for the big shopping day, said Tepperman of the Windsor location, which is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation.
“It’s still big for electronics, appliances or bedding specials,” he said. “But on Black Friday we find the consumer is looking for screaming hot deals on products they can’t buy on any other day. We bring in special or unique items that we don’t normally sell.” While the furniture chain of stores, which has a handful of locations elsewhere in Ontario, has also moved toward the online shopping craze, “we know most people still want to come into our store and try a product out,” he said. “Each chair can be different, so it’s really hard to figure out exactly what you are getting online.” People will be lining up at Best Buy waiting for the doors to open at 6 a.m. on Friday looking for good deals, especially on electronics, said Brad Ratz, general manager for the location in Windsor. “Black Friday continues to grow for us,” Ratz said. “Each year, more Windsorities are shopping for Black Friday deals. Many of them are choosing Black Friday to kick off their holiday shopping.” Best Buy Canada estimates there will be more than two million visits to its stores with close to one million transactions.
A national survey conducted by Ipsos Reid for the company shows 54 per cent of Canadians are expected to cash in on savings on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Other survey findings show millennials are keenest to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday at 77 per cent, followed by generation X (58 per cent) and Baby Boomers (35 per cent).
Planning for Black Friday at the Best Buy in Windsor started weeks ago to ensure there was plenty of inventory and sufficient staff to handle the foot traffic.
Ratz listed two of the best deals as the PlayStation 4 Spider-Man bundle at $259.99 ($120 off ) and a 55-inch Samsung television at $599 (regularly $899).
Best Buy has watched more customers buying online, but “customer interaction” has still been valuable, Ratz said.
“The interaction with our blue shirt and Geek Squad employees and the knowledge they have leads to a different experience,” Ratz said.
“A lot of our customers still like that interaction.”
Many of them are choosing Black Friday to kick off their holiday shopping.