ByGabriel vasquez

The Las Cruces Bulletin

If you’re planning on braving the cold and dark this year to go bargain hunting, you’re not alone.

According to the International Council for Shopping Centers (ICSC), Black Friday holiday sales will draw more customers this year, from 10 percent of holiday shoppers in 2007 and 2008 to 16 percent this year.

The survey, conducted annually in partnership with Goldman, Sachs & Co., calculates that the average holiday season shopper will spend $543 on gifts and $133 on gift cards, with a bulk of the money being spent on Black Friday.

“This pattern is not totally surprising,” said Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s Research Analyst Michelle Tan, announcing the numbers. “Traffic has been increasingly concentrated in key shopping periods with deeper lulls and these survey results suggest this trend will continue during the 2009 holiday season.”

For April Anaya, the numbers ring true. She said she and her husband will look for the most enticing deals this week and plan their Black Friday accordingly, something they haven’t done for more than 10 years.

“I don’t usually shop Black Friday, I’m not the most patient person,” Anaya said. “But the economy being the way it is, we’re looking for good deals. We’re going to look at the flyers this Thursday and plan from there.”

Anaya said despite the tough economy, she still wants to have as many, if not more, boxes and bags under the family Christmas tree this year.

“My son has really been into gaming lately,” she said. “He’s a big XBOX fan, and already, I see some of the games are going down from $60 to $40. I’ll be looking for the best deals on other video games like the Nintendo DS.”

Jessica Hernandez, a college student, said she’s never shopped Black Friday, but is willing to sacrifice a good night’s sleep for lucrative specials on toys.

“I’ve always been intimidated by the sales,” she said. “But this year they have some really good specials on toys that I’m hoping to get for my nephews. I’m just hoping I can get there in time.”

Building a better nest

Although clothing, toys and games lead the way as the main gift items of choice, this year’s ICSC survey indicates a notable shift toward purchasing gifts that could be used at home.

The three areas that show the biggest increase in consumer interest over last year are music, CDs and DVDs; houseware; and consumer electronics, with a notable increase in electronic book readers.

“The real story is the shift toward nesting items – those that are either for, or used within the home,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s director of research and chief economist.

“It keeps with the trend we have seen over the course of the recession, that people are spending more time at home – eating in, renting movies ... and purchasing gifts that make this practice more enjoyable.”

Bruce Huhmann, retail expert and marketing professor at New Mexico State University, said the nesting trend is a marketing ploy called “cocooning,” or catering to an aging demographic, in this case, baby boomers.

“As they have gotten older, they want less to go out and more to make their home a fun and enjoyable place,” he said. “We’ve had that trend for a long time, but it’s obviously stronger this year because there are a lot of (people) who don’t have money to spend on other things.”

He said electronics, especially flat-screen TVs and gaming consoles, will peak among the popular gift items people will purchase.

“Anything you can do to make your home an enjoyable place and use over and over again is a good investment,” he said.

Huhmann added that he expects to see a stronger Black Friday turnout this year than in 2008, because retailers are luring customers with more attractive deals.

“Retailers will be offering some very good deals to get people in the door,” Huhmann said. “And things are looking up for clothing retailers. Many people who didn’t spend on clothes this year will be looking to refresh their wardrobes.”

Where to go

It won’t be tough to find Black Friday deals this year. As of press time, at least 50 websites are already leaking some of the biggest sales of the year. Big box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy will have little advertising to do, as their limited stock of exclusive items will most likely be accounted for hours before their 5 a.m. or earlier opening times.

According to the ICSC, 95 percent of malls will advertise for the holidays, in TV, print and Internet ads. New ways of advertising this year will include billboards, social media, e-blasts and mobile messaging.

But given the current economic climate, malls don’t want to play it safe. Sixty-seven percent of mall owners say that their center is doing more to attract customers during the holiday season, including celebrity appearances, contests, kids’ entertainment, advertising to shop local, offering valet services, giveaways and Santa breakfasts.

At Mesilla Valley Mall, the first 150 customers will receive goodie bags with special coupons as part of the mall’s “Holiday Hullaballoo” promotion, said Susan Palmer, MVM’s marketing director.

“I think traffic will be strong this year,” she said. “Just like last year, people will be looking for bargains and doorbuster specials. I think the mall and Las Cruces itself has a great retail selection.”

Shopping locally

Although Internet deals may prove to be just as, if not more, lucrative than those found at area retailers, shopping locally has many advantages, said Joel Courtney, communication and leadership director for the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce.

“The chamber encourages everyone to shop locally,” he said. “If you shop locally and there is a problem with your item, you can easily take care of it here. Supporting local businesses also means supporting the local tax base, which means better schools, better roadways and better health care for everyone.”

Local stores such as Matteo and LuLu in Mesilla, which specialize in everything from furniture to jewelryand novelty gifts, will feature Black Friday sales, but not on a vampire’s schedule.

“We’ll be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and we’re going to have every item in the store on sale,” said Matt Bleything, the stores’ owner. “We only do this once a year, and it’s a really big event for us. It’s a big indicator of how we’ll do the rest of the year.”

Terri Sugerman, manager at Nambe Mills in Mesilla said her store is offering up to 60 percent off on “almost everything” during the entire month of November.

“This is a very important time of the year for us,” she said. “It provides our customers great value and provides us, as a retailer, with good business.”

The ICSC-Goldman Sachs Holiday Survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults 18-years-of-age and older, living in private households in the continental United States.

Editor’s note: Black Friday, a term that dates back to the ’60s, is thought to be named for the day retailers make profits, or go from red to black. Earlier uses of the word, such as in 1966 by the Philadelphia Police Department, is not a term of endearment, but rather a name to signify massive traffic jams and overcrowded sidewalks as stores were mobbed from opening to closing.

Black Friday shoppers crowd the aisles of Best Buy at 5 a.m. Friday, Nov. 23, 2007. Retail experts predict even larger crowds for the biggest shopping day of the year Friday, Nov. 27.

a. Kurz | The Las Cruces Bulletin