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SALT LAKE CITY — Major retailers are pulling out all the stops for Black Friday, but each year, Black Friday increasingly is no longer only on the day after Thanksgiving.
A lot rides on holiday shopping. Stores can make up to 40 percent of their annual profit in the last six weeks of the year. Many shoppers eagerly anticipate the special promotions and steep discounts on the day after Thanksgiving, but Black Friday is changing.
"The fact is some stores are advertising doorbuster deals that frankly, they've promoted previously or plan to promote later in the season," said Farnoosh Torabi, a financial expert at Nerdwallet.com.
More retailers are rolling out the big discounts early. Target started offering some Black Friday deals in the past week. Retail giant Wal-Mart says it will offer an early bird special on discounts. Best Buy and Macy's say they will be open Thanksgiving Day, and other retailers like K-Mart and Radio Shack will offer deals on Thanksgiving morning.
And those killer doorbuster deals? Stores might tout big price drops, but analysts say they're often in very limited quantities and in extremely high demand. Customers will have to be in front of the Black Friday crowd to actually score an item at a low, low price.
“Retailers are banking on the fact that we just don’t have time to be tracking prices month by month, week by week. We’re busy, especially around the holidays,” Torabi said.
Analysts say the best bargains may be found well in advance of Black Friday. Plus as an extra bonus for those who don't like the crowds — more retailers are using their websites to push bargain-basement deals.
