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Published Thursday, November 24, 2011 in Local

Coweta merchants getting ready for Black Friday sales

By Jeff Bishop

The Newnan Times-Herald

Doors are opening earlier than ever before this "Black Friday."

At Walmart, some deals begin as early as Thursday night at 10 p.m., while Best Buy, Kohls, and Target will open their doors at midnight, with Belk to follow at 3 a.m., and JCPenney at 4. Previously, local shoppers had to camp out on sidewalks through the night, waiting for the doors to open.

Some locals will be avoiding the shopping madness altogether this year.

"I will not be doing any shopping," said Tammy Cartersen. "People get too crazy about it. I rather enjoy sleeping in -- as much as my 4-year-old will let me."

"I will be staying away from retailers on Black Friday," said Dr. Georgina DeWeese, a teacher at the University of West Georgia. "It's a ridiculous tradition! All the videos of people getting trampled to save $20 on a TV they probably don't need anyway...sickening!"

"Staying home!" agreed Kim Higgins. "No deal is worth that hassle."

Big deals are everywhere this year. Walmart's deals include a Sansui 19" LCD TV for $98, an Amazon Kindle for $79, a Kodak C1450 digital camera for $49, an HP DJ-1051 all-in-one printer for $19, and classic board games for $3.88 each.

Best Buy doorbusters begin at midnight, and include a well-publicized Sharp 42" LCD 1080p HD TV for only $199.99, a Samsung laptop with a 15.6" display and 320GB hard drive for $299.99, a Toshiba smart Blu-ray player for $39.99, and the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Blu-ray for $9.99.

Kohls, which opens at midnight, has 500 Early Bird Specials, and shoppers will get $15 "Kohls cash" for every $50 they spend.

Target's deals this year include an 8GB iPod Touch for $195 plus $40 gift card, a Canon Rebel T3 digital SLR camera for $479, a PS3 160GB bundle for $199, a Rachael Ray 14-piece nonstick cook set for $97, and aDirt Devil versa power stick vac for $9.

Belk also opens earlier than ever before, at 3 a.m., and its "Early Bird" specials include a $129.99 GPX 19" LCD TV DVD player and Rampage Beecher and Korrie boots for $19.99.

JCPenney opens at 4 a.m. and features an array of women's boots for $29.99, $3.99 Nerf / Barbie / Fisher Price toys, and a $39.88 four-piece Protocol luggage set.

Mary Delk, a director at Deloitte Consulting, told Bloomberg news that stiff competition will mean big bargains for shoppers, but the higher sales may actually result in lower profits for retailers.

"Consumer anxiety has resulted in a frenzy among retailers to compete for market share," said Delk, who is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. "The inducements and deals are bigger and bolder."

Retailers are pouring on the discounts to attract consumers grappling with 9 percent unemployment and a slower U.S. economic expansion than previously estimated. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, grew at a 2.3 percent annual rate, little changed from the 2.4 percent initial estimate.

Black Friday, so named because many retailers become profitable then, serves as the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. Holiday sales may rise 2.8 percent this year, or about half of last year's 5.2 percent gain, according to the National Retail Federation. The Washington-based NRF will release Thanksgiving weekend sales numbers on Nov. 27.

As many as 152 million people will hit the stores on Black Friday, up 10 percent from last year, according to the NRF.

Still, retail executives are less optimistic about Black Friday sales than they were a year ago, according to a survey by BDO USA, a consulting firm based in Chicago. Sales may rise 1.6 percent, the average estimate of 100 executives in BDO's survey conducted last month. That compares with a 3.8 percent increase in the survey last year.

A new poll from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) finds many Americans have concern over how they will pay for their holiday expenses in this "bah humbug" economy.

According to an online survey commissioned by NEFE and conducted by Harris Interactive in November 2011, 49 percent of Americans are much/somewhat more concerned about being able to afford holiday expenses this season, compared to their level of confidence five years ago before the recession and economic downturn. As a result, 54 percent of those who have holiday expenses plan to spend less this year than they did five years ago.

"Americans are facing a lot of challenges because of the duration of the current economic climate, so it's no surprise there is heightened concern over how much money people can spend on their loved ones," says Ted Beck, president and CEO of NEFE.

In a season that means "black" for many retailers, one red flag has risen among consumers. The NEFE survey finds 63 percent of Americans will not set or have a budget for their holiday shopping. "It's concerning that the majority of shoppers this holiday season will not have a spending plan along with their shopping list," says Beck. "Having a gift budget really helps keep spending on track and prevents a situation where emotion takes over."

Among the numerous expenses associated with the holidays, 65 percent of Americans anticipate gifts to be their largest expenditure this year, with 60 percent planning to spend the most on family members. Top expenses for the remainder include: food/groceries for holiday meals (12 percent), travel (8 percent), entertainment/entertaining or holiday greeting cards (both 2 percent), gift wrap/decorating and other (both 1 percent). Ten percent anticipate not having any holiday-related expenses this year.

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