With monthlong sales and deals online, every day is Black Friday

Hawaii consumers no longer have to gobble up their Thanksgiving meals to get a jump on Black Friday, because sales began as early as the start of November.

Black Friday, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the holiday season, has evolved in recent years, first creeping into Thanksgiving, then becoming a weeklong and now monthlong event.

Online retail giants like Amazon started daily deals from Nov. 1.

“Black Friday 2017 will be here soon, but we didn’t want you to have to wait to score awesome deals,” the company said on its website. “Stop by every day through Nov. 24 to snag early Black Friday deals,” including sales on electronics, kitchen appliances and toys.

“At Amazon, Black Friday 2017 isn’t just a day.”

National department store chains are also giving shoppers early Black Friday discounts. Macy’s is offering more than 100 specials from Nov. 16 through 21.

Best Buy started its “Beat the Black Friday rush sale” on TVs, computers and other electronics Nov. 9 and will add to the roster its normal door-buster deals Thursday and Friday, said Sean Oliver, general manager of the Iwilei store, which will be open 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday.

“We just expanded the amount of deals that we have out there. It’s just to remain competitive. You get the customers to shop early and beat the rush,” he said. “Now Black Friday’s a monthlong event. Retailers are trying to capture … those customers who may not have shopped on Black Friday.”

Last year hundreds of customers stood in line — some staying overnight — as early as Monday to scoop up the once-a-year deals on electronics, but due to the earlier specials this year, it is unclear how many will show up.

“That’s the magic question. This is the first year we’re kind of doing this,” Oliver said, adding that customers also can snag Black Friday specials online. “I know we’ll still get a lot of people showing up.”

Walmart spokeswoman Tiffany Wilson said the big-box retailer is starting online-only Black Friday deals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and in-store sales at 6 p.m. Thursday, though it is offering “early access to savings” now.

“The majority of our Black Friday deals will be available online. We like to give our customers options. A lot of customers want to come in and touch and feel the products and see them in person. For some families, it’s going into a store and getting that feeling and being a part of the excitement … when deals are unveiled. It’s a tradition for them. For customers who want to shop from the comfort of their own home, they have that option as well. It’s just a matter of what your preference is.”

‘Not as exciting’

Nathaniel Hartmann, associate professor of marketing at the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business, said the earlier retailers can market their sales, the better chance of luring customers.

“Consumers do have a limited budget. The earlier a retailer can inform a consumer of the sale they have available, the more likely it is that it will capture a proportion of that consumer’s wallet,” he said. “Most ads come out right before Black Friday. You’re able to filter through a lot of that by having an ad a couple weeks before. If you’re the first one to make consumers aware of the sales you have available, it’s more likely they’ll remember you.”

Fred Paine, general manager of Pearlridge Center, which opens at 6 p.m. Thursday, then again at 6 a.m. Friday, said, “Everybody’s just trying to get a jump on the others.”

“I used to love Black Friday when it opened at 6 a.m because there was an excitement and pent-up energy. It seemed to be all over the country. It was cool,” he said. “There was all this anticipation. There were crowds outside of each entrance. It blew me away … that people would line up from (the former) Circuit City to California Pizza Kitchen over a quarter of a mile away just for those big-screen TVs at half price. We used to just marvel at it.”

A couple hundred people, many of whom camped overnight, would line up outside the mall’s entrances, and by 10 a.m. more than 7,000 parking spaces would be full, he said.

“Now it’s just sort of … diluted, and it’s not as exciting. You get dribs and drabs of people at certain times,” Paine said. “We don’t get those crowds that are right outside the door. It’s rather anticlimactic when 30 people come in the door. It’s not like 200 people. Five or six years ago was our last true Black Friday. It was a crazy day and people were everywhere, but that’s what made it so much fun. I just sort of miss that old excitement.”

Despite the progressively earlier start to the holiday season, retailers will continue catering to shoppers’ needs, Wilson said.

“Customers are evolving and we want to give them the most efficient experience and also do what’s most convenient for them,” she said. “Time is a form of currency for a lot of our customers. As customers need change, we also as a retailer have to change along with them. We want customers to be able to shop when and how they want.”