As The White Stripes once sang, “I said it once before, but it bears repeating”: so once again for the people at the back, my suspicion is that we may still have to wait a tiny bit longer for Christmas sales to really kick into gear. Next week will be an interesting litmus test; not only is it half-term in many parts of the UK, but some of the big retailers are starting their festive promotional campaigns, with toys expected to play a key role in encouraging parents and families to visit stores.
I received an email from Sainsbury’s earlier this week, announcing the start of the Big Toy Sale, which runs through to the middle of next week. This always used to be a major event for toy bargain hunters, although it has felt slightly less impactful in recent years. I must try to visit a local branch to see what’s on offer this year. Traditionally, when one major goes, others swiftly follow suit (it’s the same with wine offers – there are either 4 – 5 25% off wine sales running simultaneously across different grocers, or none at all). So, I am sure suppliers and retailers will be expecting sales to pick up next week, with many parents and kids on holiday and some tempting offers flying around. I look forward to hearing how it’s all going as the week unfolds.
While Half Term used to light the blue touch paper on festive sales, Black Friday has rather muddied the waters in recent years. Some consumers now decide to wait until the end of November, to see what’s on offer – not just with Amazon, but all of the retailers who try to capitalise on the ‘buying mindset’ that consumers have at that point. And far from being a single day, it has morphed into an entire week – just a shame it comes so late in the calendar. Even many indies tell me that they have chosen to adopt an ‘if you can’t beat’em, join’ em’ mentality for Black Friday week: as several have pointed out, consumers go out expecting deals, so you have to give the customer what they want. Albeit, with some prominently placed special offers at the front of the store to entice shoppers in, many indies tell me they sell plenty of products that are not on offer – it’s just a case of getting shoppers over the threshold and letting the products on shelves and on display work their magic.
One person suggested that with the lack of a very obvious single item massively in demand in the toy aisles, this Christmas will see retailers (hopefully) selling a little of a lot, rather than a lot of a little. Maybe that’s good for the market as a whole – rather than one company raking it in, consumer spend is likely to be spread between numerous different ranges and suppliers.
Read the rest here.
