Shorter holiday shopping season? No problem, Black Friday deals have already begun

Do you feel like Black Friday sales started rather early this year? You’re not hallucinating, they have.

Retailers are starting to offer Black Friday deals earlier and earlier, including at the Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township.

“There’s been a noticeable increase in pre-Black Friday sales, and Capital City Mall is no exception,” said Vince Vizza, vice president of real estate leasing at Philadelphia-based PREIT, which owns the Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township. “Stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bath & Body Works, and American Eagle are a few retailers … that come to mind who are already offering early promotions. This shift reflects a growing yearslong trend in retail where the holiday season is elongated, offering shoppers more deals without waiting for the traditional Black Friday weekend. For malls like Capital City, this approach helps create a more consistent flow of foot traffic throughout November.”

Hawley Penfold, a spokesperson for Tanger Outlets Hershey in Derry Township and Tanger Outlets Lancaster in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, said there’s been a healthy crowd of holiday shoppers at both centers.

“With Thanksgiving falling later in the month this year, we’re seeing shoppers out even earlier to get the best deals and hottest gifts for everyone on their list,” Penfold said. “Tanger Hershey and Lancaster have been offering Black Friday deals every week in November, and that opportunity for savings is drawing many shoppers to the [centers].”

The early Black Friday items include big-ticket items like flat-screen TVs, laptops and vacuums. Most of the big-name retailers taking part in this newer tradition — early Black Friday deals — include Walmart, Target, Costco, Amazon and Best Buy. JCPenney and Kohl’s began offering Black Friday deals on Nov. 8. Boscov’s and Macy’s began offering Black Friday deals on Nov. 14.

Some of the latest deals include:

• Amazon: Bose QuietComfort Bluetooth Headphones for $199, a savings of $150.
• Best Buy: Dell – Inspiron 16″ 2-in-1 Mini-LED Touch Laptop for $999, a savings of $500.
• Boscov’s: Sutton wall recliner for $299.99, a savings of $200.
• Target: Garmin Instinct 2 Smartwatch for $199.99, a savings of $100.

The day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, is traditionally the beginning of the holiday shopping season – a day when retailers go from loss to gain; from operating “in the red” to being “in the black.”

This year, the traditional holiday shopping season is five days shorter, since Black Friday falls on Nov. 29. But people aren’t waiting.

Fifty-eight percent of consumers have already started their holiday shopping as of early November, and on average, holiday shoppers have completed one-quarter of their planned purchases, according to a National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics survey.

But just because the Black Friday deals are out early doesn’t mean that shoppers still won’t be in stores on Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, a record 183.4 million people are planning to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the survey. That would be an 18.1 million increase over 2019.

“Even though holiday shopping continues to pull forward, some of the busiest shopping days of the year are during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend,” Katherine Cullen, National Retail Federation Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights, said in a news release. “Consumers are prioritizing gift-giving for the most important people in their lives, and retailers are prepared to help customers find everything on their shopping lists at great prices throughout the season.”

Black Friday is still the number one day that people will shop both in-person and online — an expected 131.7 million people — with about 65% of those shoppers shopping in-person, according to the survey.

Vizza said the in-person experience on Black Friday continues to hold a nostalgic appeal for customers.

“Black Friday is still expected to draw large crowds and remain one of the busiest shopping days of the year, including at Capital City Mall,” he said.

The National Retail Federation has forecasted that winter holiday spending is expected to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% more than in 2023 — that equates to between $979.5 billion and $989 billion in total holiday spending in November and December, compared with $955.6 billion during the same timeframe last year.

“The economy remains fundamentally healthy and continues to maintain its momentum heading into the final months of the year,” Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said in a news release. “The winter holidays are an important tradition to American families, and their capacity to spend will continue to be supported by a strong job market and wage growth.”

The federation says that the holiday forecast is consistent with its forecast that annual sales for 2024 will be between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023.