Randy Allen, former senior vice president of strategic planning and business initiatives at K mart Corp and senior lecturer of management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, says that the earlier launch of Black Friday gives retailers an edge – but continually pushing it forward may make Black Friday obsolete.

Allen says:

“Last year, a large number of retailers opened on Thanksgiving night. Companies wanted to be out there with their deals, before anyone else, in order to capture the business. One company does it, and everyone follows suit.

“But when everyone opens on Thanksgiving Thursday, the advantage erodes. Last year, it just spread the dollars out over several days. Consumers aren’t necessarily going to spend more money, because they can shop sooner.

“If retailers continue to launch their Black Friday promotions and deals earlier in November, Black Friday becomes meaningless — and it may become a non-event. Retailers have to consider their strategies. It’s very hard to have hot deals over an extended period of time. “Online shopping is definitely resulting in spending being spread over a longer period of time. Amazon.com has got its Black Friday deals up, three days prior to Thanksgiving Day. Another advantage they have is the ability to run an instant promotion, something that’s much harder to do in a store.”

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