Happy Holidays!

I've been forced to feel remiss for wishing anyone a Merry Christmas, worried that perhaps they might not celebrate that particular holiday, be insulted that I did not also wish them a Happy [insert holiday here] as well, or worse, be offended that I would assume off the bat that they must celebrate Christmas.

While I don't agree with the fact that we're almost unable to visibly recognize Christmas in a public place, whether it be a city's "holiday" tree, or in school, I do agree with recognizing and respecting everyone's holidays.

With that said, if you do celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas to you and yours from the entire team at Marketnews and here's how! magazines, MarketnewsGadgetTalk blog, and Bomar Publishing Inc.

If you don't celebrate Christmas, or also celebrate another holiday, here's what I hope to be a comprehensive list of the holidays you are likely to celebrate:

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Kwanza

Happy Saturnalia

Happy Holidays

Best Wishes

Joyous Season

Joyeux Noel

Happy New Year

If I'm missing anything, please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section below.

Stay tuned after Christmas for more for blog entries; as well as a new home for MarketnewsGadgetTalk.

[Photo: www.freedigitalphotos.net]

Black Friday Looked Promising

As online shoppers are clicking away at Cyber Monday, we're in good spirits since Black Friday actually turned out better than expected. A reported 172 million shoppers visited stores this weekend, up 25 million from last year! Even more impressive is that this number is significantly more than the 128 million people that the National Retail Federation (NRF) had originally anticipated would hit stores. So what made people come out with shopping guns-a-blazin' despite the current economy?

As they say, people can't resist a good bargain. And when times are tough, those who might not have bothered seeking out discounts before (the same people that often refuse to wait in line for anything) might just roll up their sleeves and get out with the rest of the deal-seekers. If you've been wanting to buy a new DVD player, winter wardrobe, or toys for the kids, this weekend was definitely the time to do it. In that respect, people probably felt they were better off shopping now and paying things back slowly than waiting until later and paying full price for the same thing.

Still, I surveyed a few people in the U.S. about whether or not they were going to head out to shop, and the responses varied greatly. One person told me that he couldn't bring himself to join the wolves, so to speak.

"I'm not desperate enough to line up at in a tent for a bargain," he said, noting, however, that there were tons of people camped out at his local Best Buy in tents from Thanksgiving night!

Another friend who had originally planned to go Black Friday shopping said she decided to "do her shopping from the web...like everyone else I know."

Meanwhile, a third person shopping in the heart of Manhatten, NYC, exclaimed quite frankly: "Recession? What recession???" It's safe to assume that the streets and stores were packed down there.

Granted, these are only a few personal accounts, but it appears that the situation, not surprisingly, varies from store to store, and city to city. The good news is that, overall, more people shopped, and spent more than they even did last year during this critical weekend. As for future outlook, of course we can't expect these numbers to keep up. The NRF is, however, sticking with its original prediction of a modest 2.2% increase in holiday sales for '08.

As for Canada, I haven't seen any definitive numbers. But a short visit to the Toronto Eaton Centre this weekend had me in shock: I have never seen that weekend destination mall so barren on a late November-early December weekend, and on a Sunday, to boot. Visiting Sherway Gardens shopper centre today for lunch, I was equally disappointed when I noticed that a fast food joint that had only been open for less than a month had already closed its doors. We're certainly up for some tough times ahead. Hopefully they won't last too far into '09.

Stay tuned for final numbers, including Cyber Monday online sales figures, once they become available.

Black Friday Update

A correspondent in Chicago reports to us that Black Friday line-ups in the downtown area are relatively thin. Photos above from the Northbrook Mall, taken shortly after opening at 8 a.m., show a moderate crowd in the Apple Store, but nothing to write home about. This is what an Apple Store in Toronto looks like on a normal day!

As for the "deals", we're told that, quote, "the marketing of the sale is better than the sale itself." Keep in mind that this might not hold true for every retailer in every U.S. city. But in this particular case, Black Friday "crowds" are a bit disappointing.

We're getting mixed messages from other sources: some stores appear flooded with shoppers trampling over one another...literally. In one Wal-Mart store in NYC, an unfortunate employee reportedly died due to the pushy crowds! (Though Wal-Mart only confirms that a "medical emergency" caused the retailer to close that store's doors). Some are claiming that it is in fact the bad economy that has forced them to come out and weather the crowds today: getting a "deal" might not have been so necessary before; but now, shoppers are willing to wait in long line-ups just to save a few bucks.

But other reports claim that retailers are cautious about how things will inevitably turn out. Even in shops with big crowds, people tend to be looking for that one fantastic deal, snagging it, and heading home versus prior years where they might have picked up a few extra items on the way to the check out.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available...

Happy Black Friday...Or is It?

As our neighbours south of the border roll out of bed with their bellies full of turkey and all the trimming, many will surprisingly still find the energy to get out there and shop today, known as Black Friday.

Historically, Black Friday, the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, when retailers bring out the big guns, so to speak, with amazing deals and discounts. But it's more important than you might think, often determining a company's profitaiblity for the entire year. Some speculate that Black Friday could account for as much as 50% of a retailer's yearly profits! With the economy in the current state that it is, there's no doubt that many are crossing their fingers that shoppers will come, and that this year won't be a disappointment.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has relatively high hopes for the day: while the organization is not expecting record-breaking numbers, it does anticipate a 2.2% growth in spending. Not exactly a very healthy increase (in fact, it's the lowest it has been in years), but it's better than one might expect given the financial crisis.

A preliminary NRF survey forecasts that up to 128 million people will be shopping today, and into the weekend. 49 million of these are definitely putting on their shopping shoes, while the remaining 79 million are waiting to see whether the "deals" are worth the trek into the city. Last year, 135 million people said they would go shopping on Black Friday weekend.

Interestingly, the NRF, like many other research companies, points to the falling gas prices as positively effecting the retail landscape. People perceive the savings on gas as some extra money in their pockets. Still, the defining factor on consumer's minds this weekend is price, price, price. So good deals are more important than ever.

"Shoppers who held off on buying a DVD player or winter coat over the last few months will find that prices may literally be too good to pass up," explains Tracy Mullin, President & CEO of the NRF.

Hopefully, Mullin is right.

It doesn't end on Sunday, though. Since the Web has become such a dominant force in the retail industry, the Monday following Black Friday has been coined "Cyber Monday", where at-home shoppers can take advantage of deals online. The advantage here is, of course, the ability to avoid the thrill and confusion of packed sales floors and long line-ups. Shop.org finds that more retailers will be offering Cyber Monday promotions this year than they did last year (83.7% vs. 72.2%).

Official Black Friday results won't be released until 4 p.m. this Sunday. But already, many local news outlets are reporting healthy turn-outs, with people waiting in lines from the early morning hours.

Still, we won't know how the retail industry has fared until the mass hysteria is over, the inventory has been accounted for, and the receipts tabulated. More than ever, this weekend is critical for the U.S. retail industry: it could, in many ways, make or break a retailer.

Gift Cards Could Suffer From Economic Woes

I received an e-mail today - one of those forwarded chain notes I often get. It supplied a list of retail stores, and warned recipients not to purchase gift cards as Christmas presents from these companies because they have announced plans to close up shop by January 2009. This got me to thinking: will gift cards, a typically popular holiday gift, suffer in wake of the current economic climate?

An Ipsos Reid study conducted around Christmas-time last year found that 88% of respondents like receiving gift cards. In fact, 72% would rather a gift card than an actual gift! I don't think these numbers will drop this year simply due to fear that a store might close, but if e-mails like the one I received continue to circulate, it might just scare people off from buying gift cards.

The whole idea of a gift card is that the person can buy something they want. While it replaces an actual gift, what I've often found is that you end up spending more money than you otherwise would have with a gift card. Now if the recipient ends up getting nothing from the card because the company went out of business (a horrible experience: trust me, I've been there!), you've now both disappointed the person and lost a whack of money.

Will you be buying gift cards this year?

As an aside, I thought it funny that the most often-requested gift item I've heard over the past few months from family and friends is in fact a gift card, but of a specific kind: a gas card! You know times are tough when filling up your car becomes a luxury!

HDTV: Who Knew Football Was SO Powerful?

The RetailBRIDGE cites a study that claims 5.5 million U.S. TV viewers purchased HDTVs during the holiday season and football's Superbowl in February 2008. To put this number in perspective, 28 million U.S. households in total own HDTVs. This means that 20% of the current HDTV population in the U.S. jumped on board during the Christmas season and Superbowl timeframe. Wow!

There are obviously other factors that come into play here: amazingly low prices during those few months (and even still today!), the upcoming FCC transition to all-digital TV, and growing consumer knowledge about HDTV overall. But a major surge in sales during those 3 months is great news for the industry; and just reinforces the importance of the holidays and sports. It's incredible when you think just how important gift-giving and sporting events are to the CE business.

The study, which was conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, reports that one-quarter of the U.S. population now owns an HDTV; and almost 10 million homes now have at least two HDTVs. 30 million Americans say they plan to buy an HDTV this year, and virtually all of them say they'll go HD.

As more and more consumers begin to understand HDTV, and the sources that are required to obtain content, the format is poised for major growth. When will we reach 100% penetration? Judging from the way things are going now, I think we'll get pretty darned close by 2009.

For those who aren't familiar with how to get HD, here's a quick recap of the requirements:

1) Buy an high-definition TV (720p, 1080i, or 1080p, with the latter being the "best" quality possible; but all three technically representing HD-quality)

2) Buy an HD source, like a cable or satellite set-top box, Blu-ray disc player, or Sony PlayStation 3.

3) To access high-definition programming via cable or satellite TV, contact your provider and subscribe to the high-definition channels you want. In most cases, the provider should have some sort of HD add-on pack that includes most, if not all, of the available high-def channels. If you want to watch a high-definition DVD, you must buy a Blu-ray disc and play it back in a Blu-ray player. If you buy a standard DVD movie, it will not become high-definition if you play it back in your Blu-ray player; although it will be upscaled to a better quality image.

That's it, and you're off to enjoying HD content in all its glory!

Boxing Day: Is it all a Ploy?

I have become increasingly skeptical of Boxing Day "deals". Yet, for some odd reason, I still feel obligated to join the millions of others stampeding into the shopping mall on the 26th, waiting in line to get into a store they'd normally never shop at to save a few bucks on something they probably never would have purchased otherwise. Is it all worth it?

What about the so-called "deals"? The truth is that it really comes down to the specific store. Of course some will have real, cost-saving door-crasher specials that are worth trudging to the mall and fighting for a parking spot in three feet of snow to snag. But there are others who draw you in with huge signage and big promises only to offer a measly 10% off; and this is only after having first jacked the price tag up by 15%!

Even after purchasing an item at a fantastic deal, 'll often head over to the mall on the 27th or 28th and find the exact same deal still in effect. Why did I wait in line for 15 minutes to get this deal a few days ago, when I could have just come back?

Many retailers are honest about this, promoting the sale as "Boxing Week" rather than Boxing Day, if not for the customer's benefit, for their own. It pretty much says in a subtle, yet direct way, "Hey, you don't need to bombard me today - come back tomorrow...please!"

Nevertheless, I, like many others, feel the need to pop over to the mall on the 26th and make sure I'm not missing out on anything. Even though deep down I know the same deals will exist two days later, there's an air of tradition that requires that I put myself through torture, and support one of the biggest days in consumer culture.

Before you head out shopping, do your research (even if just anecdotal) and find out where the worthwhile savings are before you waste your time. Many retailers, like Future Shop and Best Buy, will not only hold in-store sales, but will also begin online sales as early as December 24, offering significant savings in limited quantities. And if you don't make it out on December 26, rest assured that, if history repeats itself, there will be "deals" of all kinds all week long.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays (should you celebrate another holiday) to you all!

[Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/].