Business news

As stores prepare for hordes of Black Friday shoppers and mark down high-definition TVs and hot toys, they’re also pushing deals on something more mundane — necessities like socks and diapers.

Toys R Us, Walmart and clothing stores in malls are responding to tough economic times by luring people who are making it a more practical holiday this year.

What should shoppers expect? Fewer sumptuous sweaters, $200 robotic toys and other flashy items. Everyday items like flannel shirts, blankets and underwear are now on the list.

Toys R Us’ Babies R Us stores are armed with deals on jumbo packs of diapers and baby food for their 5 a.m. opening on Black Friday. Spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh expects shoppers will buy these staples not just for themselves but also as practical gifts.

Walmart’s promotions include $7 fleece jackets and $3 children’s pajamas.

The promotional blitz at the start of the holiday shopping season has high stakes this year both for retailers that have suffered through a year of sales declines and for the economy, which could use a lift from consumer spending. Thanksgiving also falls fairly late this year, meaning fewer shopping days.

The National Retail Federation trade group expects Black Friday crowds to be bigger this year, but retail consultant Walter Loeb says spending for the weekend will be at best unchanged from last year direct payday loan lenders.

People are still "very nervous about the future," said Tracy Mullin, president of the federation. "But I think the good news is that stores get this new consumer, and the products are much less showy."

As the financial meltdown and recession have kept shoppers frugal, stores have tweaked their merchandising approach for Black Friday, so named because it was traditionally the day when crowds of shoppers pushed stores into profitability.

Price cuts on big-ticket items like flat-panel TVs and computers are again being used to bring shoppers into stores. But this year, stores are also using necessities like diapers and socks as what the industry calls "loss leaders" — items that stores are willing to lose money on in order to draw shoppers through the doors.

"Customers have cut back their spending broadly, and retailers need to take advantage of every time they’re in the stores," Long said.

Source