http://www.retail-week.com/multichan...055304.article
Quote:
Not everything that comes across the pond is good or appropriate for the British high street. Black Friday is simply an Americanism, which doesn’t translate very well.
Let’s face it, Black Friday and Thanksgiving are not natural parts of the British shopping calendar. Black Friday in the US is the day after Thanksgiving when retailers slash their prices to kick start the Christmas shopping period.
In Britain our retailers don’t need, or want, this extra discounting day. Black Friday falls just as consumers have received their last monthly pay packet before Christmas and most have enough natural inclination to spend without the added impetus of a sale day.
Despite this, and due to the persistence of US trailblazers like Apple and Amazon extending their Black Friday offers to customers in the UK, I would expect more UK retailers than ever to feel they have to get in on the Black Friday act this year.
But should they react or hold firm? If they discount they lose out on selling goods at full margin when consumers are most likely to spend, but if they don’t then they could lose out on sales full stop.
Instead of wildly slashing prices to match this US retailer led price promotion retailers should use their multichannel operation to react in a targeted manner and offer other benefits to their customers, like personalised vouchers or extra bonus points.
Bricks and mortar retailers have a number of weapons in their arsenal to battle Black Friday. They could offer to pay for parking for customers spending a certain amount in store or a voucher for a free coffee or meal in a neighbouring cafe. They can use their theatre to combat the one day discount.
Not everything that comes across the pond is good or appropriate for the British high street; Black Friday is a sale that falls at the wrong time and is ultimately bad for the health of UK retail. It is especially damaging to those retailers who have tightly managed their stock levels and simply don’t have piles of surplus stock they need to shift through sales. Retailers should not see this as a price war they must engage in, but use it as an opportunity to offer an even better experience to their customers.
David McCorquodale is head of retail at KPMG
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wait till biger sales start