US retailers stretch out Black Friday deals to lure flagging shoppers

US retailers are extending their one-day seasonal Black Friday discount offers into a sales occurrence lasting weeks in a bid to tempt US consumers to keep spending, as data suggests that their spree which has driven market advancement is beginning to falter.

Walmart, Amazon, Target and Macy’s are among the US retailers already offering deep discounts under the banner of Black Friday, long before it actually arrives this week.

Despite this, general merchandise unit sales were down 3 per cent year-on-year in the week ending 16 November according to data from Circana, which compiles retail point-of-sale data.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that winter holiday sales will reach almost $1tn in the US in November and December, a record $902 a head. But the rate of spending growth is expected to be about 2.5-3.5 per cent, the slowest since 2018.

“We’re seeing this drag-out of incentives to try to widen the window within which [retailers] can draw more consumers,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at adviser EY Parthenon. “The likely reality in this holiday period is that we view fairly subdued sales because volumes are growing, but at a moderate pace — and [retailers have] much less pricing power.”

Retailers were “incentivising via discounts and different forms of promotions” for those at the lower complete of the turnover spectrum while also “trying to grab higher-turnover individuals to make purchases during this wider window”, he said.

Although headline worth rise has ebbed from the historic highs of the history couple of years, consumers “remain extremely frustrated by the persistence of high prices”, the University of Michigan said this week in a monthly survey.

buyer spending has been the main driver of America’s robust market advancement in recent months. But buyer confidence is still well below the long-run average, sentiment surveys display.

The prospect of a fresh round of tariffs under Donald Trump’s incoming presidency raises the uncertainty that worth rise could receive off again, economists have warned — posing a fresh drag on sentiment.

“Donald Trump’s gain to the White House with a Republican majority [probably leads] to higher worth rise, slower GDP growth and increased apportionment deficits,” Roland Fumasi, food and agribusiness analyst at Rabobank, said in a note.

If Trump increases tariffs, that would “navigator to a rebound in worth rise and a slowdown in market advancement”, he said.

“The negative impact on growth could be mitigated by responsibility cuts and deregulation by a Republican Congress. However, this would boost the apportionment deficit and reinforce worth rise, especially in combination with reduced immigration,” he added.

Black Friday is one of the busiest times of year for buyer goods stores, and the period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday — the Monday following the holiday, when electronics vendors discount goods — is critical to retailers’ annual turnover.

NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said that households’ finances were in “excellent shape”, offering “an impetus for powerful spending heading into the holiday period”, although “households will spend more cautiously”.

Brian Cornell, Target chief executive, told analysts this week that consumers were becoming “increasingly resourceful” in the way that they shopped, “focusing on deals and then stocking up when they discover them”.

The store throng, which disappointed Wall Street this week by forecasting flat sales in the fourth quarter, ran a three-day “Early Black Friday” promotion in early November. On Thursday it launched a promotion titled “Black Friday deals” which will last to the complete of the month, including items such as half-worth Christmas trees and headphones.

Walmart, the globe’s largest retailer, launched the first of two week-long “Black Friday Deals” events on November 11. The second will commence on Monday, offering markdowns on televisions, iPhones, toys and jeans, among other items.

Amazon’s “Black Friday Week” began on Thursday. Home Depot’s “Black Friday reserves” propose lasts from November 7 to December 4.

Additional reporting by Will Schmitt in recent York and Madeleine Speed in London