5 Big Questions as Black Friday and Cyber Monday Battle it Out
Dias sees a "phenomenal move to shopping online," but perhaps not with the momentum needed to overtake Black Friday just yet. In surveys, consumers are claiming they will do as much as one-third of their shopping online, but she is skeptical. "They may or may not do that, even though there are large numbers that say they are going to," she says. "The big question is what is driving people out of stores and onto Web sites?" "It is a tough economy. Clearly people are seeking value," she adds. "It is much easier to get a better deal and fair prices online. I think the continuing woe of the economy actually helps online. The second trend is the penetration of mobile devices. It is so much higher this year than prior years and the quality of devices is much better. There is no comparison between an iPad and an iPhone in terms of ease of shopping on a bigger device, and the bandwidth is so much better ... It's a gorgeous device. Catalog companies, which we all thought were dead, are doing somersaults because of the beautiful photography and creativity you can have on a tablet device that, quite frankly, you couldn't do on a Web site." Can mobile devices hurt in-store sales? "As people go into stores they are relying on their mobile devices as a way to ensure that they are not paying too much," Dias says. "That's going to suck even more business out of stores." Dias says that retailers "for the first time have really acknowledged that threat" and she rattles off a list of stores that, in recent days, have said they are going to price match in their stores to online retailers. Among them are Wal-Mart To begin commenting right away, you can log in below using your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, OpenID or Yahoo login credentials. Alternatively, you can post a comment as a "guest" just by entering an email address. Your use of the commenting tool is subject to multiple terms of service/use and privacy policies - see here for more details.Circuit City Black Friday Ad - News
is whether they find their bargains in-store on Black Friday or online during Cyber Monday. Fiona Dias, once executive vice president for Circuit City and now chief strategy officer for ShopRunner -- a membership club offering free shipping and
Circuit City, a company that has been relegated to online sales only, after being acquired by Systemax, currently has the PlayStation 3 as one of their top offerings for a sale event they have dubbed “Cyber Week.” You can nab a core 320 GB PS3 system
"Today is really about managing the chaos as best you can," said Chad DiGennaro, store manager at the Toys R Us in Mayfield, who has also worked Black Friday at Best Buy and Circuit City. Two doors down from Toys R Us, sisters Meredith, 13,
As the critical sales time begins, economists and merchants are wondering whether shoppers will stick to their lists or pick up some extras for themselves not only on Black Friday but over the rest of the season. Or will shoppers do what they've been
We don't want all our stores to meet Borders or Circuit City's fate. Countries that don't even celebrate Thanksgiving have grabbed hold of the Black Friday concept in recent years, including Mexico. Last weekend, the nation experienced its first “El