A different shade of Black Friday

Omaha-area retailers and shopping centers are changing their Black Friday strategies — some slightly and others more dramatically — in hopes of coaxing out cost-conscious consumers in one of the most challenging retail environments in decades.

Some plan to offer different items in complimentary gift totes, but others are holding their first-ever Black Friday sales.

Tina Wurth, owner of Katina's women's boutique in Shops of Legacy, said that while business is good and she doesn't need to discount merchandise, she plans her first Black Friday sale simply because customers expect markdowns this year.

In past years, luxury gift and jewelry store Borsheims has offered $10 coupons on purchases of $20 or more. But for the first time, it also will aggressively discount a selection of merchandise as part of a “Thanksgiving clearance sale,” said spokeswoman Adrienne Fay.

“What we tried to do this year is not just encourage them to come, but make it irresistible for them to come,” Fay said. “Whereas before we might have whispered our deal, we're shouting it from the rooftops this year.”

The Friday after Thanksgiving is the traditional kickoff to the critical holiday shopping season, but local and national retailers began offering discounts earlier this year in an attempt to stretch sales and attract consumers, who continue to watch their spending.

Retailers have had more time to adjust to the tough economy than last year, the worst holiday shopping season in four decades. In 2008, retailers ordered inventory in anticipation of another gangbuster season. When shoppers didn't show up or didn't spend as much, businesses cut prices dramatically and suffered huge losses.

This year, retailers are playing it safe. They ordered less merchandise and are carefully discounting select items. Those moves could lead to higher profits, experts say, but consumers might be unable to find hot items.

Still, the verdict on the season is still out, despite widespread speculation and numerous surveys.

According to a survey by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation, up to 134 million people plan to shop Friday through Sunday. That's up from the 128 million people who planned to do so last year.

But sales projections generally are flat or lower than for 2008. An annual survey sponsored by the retail federation indicated that U.S. consumers plan to spend 3.2 percent less than last year — falling from an average of $705.01 to $682.74.

Several key indicators point to a recovering economy, but the nationwide unemployment rate of 10.2 percent in October was the highest since 1993, according to the Labor Department.

Many retailers and shopping center operators say Omaha's economy, cited as one of the strongest nationally, is seeing signs of improvement.

“From talking to store managers, they are all optimistic that the recession has bottomed out and sales have been trending up,” said Randy Lenhoff, president of Seldin Company, which owns and manages the Westwood Plaza and Montclair on Center shopping centers.

Stacie Mausbach with the Garment District in Shops of Legacy, which sells women's contemporary clothing and accessories, said last Thursday was the store's biggest sales day since it opened four years ago.

The Garment District stayed open later than usual as part of the mall's first pre-Black Friday promotion. Called Shop Til You Drop, it showcased the west Omaha center's stores “before the big rush,” said Amina Hogan, Shops of Legacy marketing director.

Hogan said the event, which featured Santa and carolers along with cocktails and appetizers, was a success.

Omahan Jessica Donovan, a 26-year-old advertising account executive, said she usually waits until a few weeks before Christmas to start shopping but decided to attend Shop Til You Drop after hearing about it.

Her friend Katie Pavel, also an advertising account executive, said she attended because she is feeling better about the economy.

Pavel, a Lincoln native who lived in Chicago for several years, recently moved to Omaha because of its lower cost of living, stable economy and a better job opportunity.

She won't need a second job bartending, as she had in Chicago, and she plans to shop Black Friday sales for one or two big purchases: a bed and dresser. After two years of restrained spending, Pavel said, she feels less stressed.

“I don't have to have limits on everything, but of course it's not a free-for-all,” Pavel said.

Shoppers are smarter and more discerning of good deals than in previous years, said Ted Harris, Oak View Mall's general manager. Retailers understand the change, and malls like his are trying to help them with Black Friday incentives meant not just to attract shoppers but to entice them to spend.

Oak View, for example, will give any mall shopper who spends $100 by noon Friday a $10 gift card and a one-year subscription to Martha Stewart's “Living” magazine, while supplies last. The mall also is giving away tote bags with other Martha Stewart goodies, such as recipe cards and a spatula, in the food court.

“We've done gift-with-purchase before, so it's not anything groundbreaking or new. We're just trying it differently,” Harris said. “People will be at certain places to shop, but there has to be a good incentive for them to spend their money with you, and we're trying to create those incentives.”

Westroads Mall, which like Oak View is owned by General Growth Properties, is having the same promotion, but instead of awarding the gifts to the mall's first visitors of the day as it has in the past, employees will randomly award them to shoppers throughout Friday, said General Manager Jim Sadler.

“This kind of spreads it out a little bit more,” he said.

While Sadler said the change wasn't made as a crowd-control measure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has urged retailers to take greater precautions with their promotions this year, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Walmart recently announced that most of its U.S. locations will be open overnight on Thanksgiving to avoid a repeat of last year, when an employee in a New York store was trampled to death by customers on Black Friday.

Aside from that, many Omaha-area malls and shopping centers appear to be keeping the same opening hours as last year. Malls' anchor stores often open as early as 4 a.m., but the malls themselves generally open a couple of hours later, about 6 a.m.

Every shopping center is different, however, so shoppers should check before heading out.

Some stores and shopping centers try to avoid the pre-dawn crush of shoppers.

Kim Jones, Village Pointe's marketing director, said the shopping center at 168th Street and West Dodge Road will open at 8 a.m., as it has for several years, despite contemplating a change this year.

“We just felt like we didn't need to open at those dramatic hours,” Jones said. “We want to be the place where people can come and enjoy shopping without the frenzy but still take advantage of the various values that will be offered throughout the stores.”

On the other hand, Shadow Lake Towne Center, which like Village Pointe is marketed by RED Development, is offering doorbuster deals every hour, starting with Old Navy at 3 a.m. It also is making other changes in hopes of attracting the post-recession shopper, said Alicia Peters, marketing director of the center at Nebraska Highway 370 and 72nd Street in Papillion.

“We're adding more coupons, more giveaways, more incentives, so that they feel that it's worth their time and effort,” Peters said. “People are still there, they are still spending. We're just making subtle changes to try and support what people are doing.”

People are shopping less impulsively, creating “a little more sanity,” said Dale Achabal, executive director of Santa Clara University's Retail Management Institute in California.

They shouldn't expect the same level of discounts as last year, he said. Those were made across the board by retailers who were unprepared for the downturn, Achabal said. This year, retailers might significantly cut prices on just a few items, hoping to draw customers who then spend more on other items, Achabal said.

The Walmart, Amazon.com and Target price war on new releases of books is an example, he said. The retailers aren't reducing prices on all books, just new releases.

Retailers can't afford to take the across-the-board losses on many items a second year in a row, Achabal said.

“When they do these extreme discounts, they are selling products at or below cost. If you're not making some margin, what good does it do?”

Bob Batt, executive vice president at Nebraska Furniture Mart, said customers expect discounts, but he isn't telling what they'll be at his store.

“That's a secret,” he said.

“We're confident as can be. If you think like a loser, you're going to be one,” Batt said. “We really believe we're going to have a good holiday.”

Contact the writer:

444-1183, christine.laue@owh.com

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