United States: the balances of “Black Friday” in full swing – Boursorama

United States: the balances of "Black Friday" in full swing – Boursorama

A consumer brings in a TV monitor in his safe during “Black Friday”, November 27, 2014 in Fairfax, Virginia (AFP / Paul J. Richards)

“Black Friday” that sees US consumers rush to stores offering monsters balances after the Thanksgiving holiday, has no name since Friday that it now starts in the previous days.

The tradition of this “Black Friday” is that Americans benefit from the deck of the Thanksgiving, which falls on the last Thursday of November to indulge in a shopping orgy in stores that cut prices for the occasion. Foremost among the hottest commodities include electronics and apparel.

While the US economy is doing well, especially compared to its European and Japanese competitors, the oil price drop is a new factor that leaves hope for good sales ranging from “Black Friday” of the holiday season.

Consumer spending meets for two-thirds of economic activity in the United States, sales figures are monitored closely by economists. Some institutes even monitor supermarket car parks for indications on attendance in the early hours of the day.

According to forecasts by the National Retail Federation traders, 140.1 million people will buy property between Thursday and Sunday, a little less than last year

-. “Gray Thursday” –

But the “Black Friday” is no longer just since Friday Some stores now open from Thursday, even if it is in principle a public holiday.

“On Thursday just cannibalize the Grey Black Friday,” said Chris Christopher, Director of Studies consumption for IHS Global Insight in a telephone interview with AFP on Friday.

A consumer queue before the” Black Friday ” November 27, 2014 in Leesburg (USA) (AFP / Peter Stebbings)

The supermarket chains Wal-Mart and Target have remained faithful to the tradition by opening the doors of their shops hard to 6:00 am Friday. According to Wal-Mart, 22 million customers through the doors of stores Friday, roughly the same number as last year.

But their online shopping sites have not waited. “The internet sales have started when turkeys were still in the oven and we recorded yesterday (Thursday) our second biggest online sales day of all time,” said Laura Phillips, head of trade policy at Wal -Mart, the biggest supermarket chain in the world.

“Black Friday” is also followed by “Cyber ​​Monday” on Monday, which was the last year for Wal-Mart more strong day sales record.

Target offered his side for the first time reductions “Black Friday” as soon … Wednesday. As for the giant Best Buy electronics, its website crashed for a few hours Friday morning.

Another area to benefit from the purchase of “Black Friday”, the automobile. The price of gasoline at the pump fell this week averaged $ 2.82 a gallon (3.8 liters), down 13% year on year, reaching its lowest level for a week Thanksgiving since 2009.

“While gasoline expenditures account for only 3% of disposable income, it is important for the mood of consumers,” said Chris Christopher.

It expects an increase in retail sales of 4.2% year on year, after gains of 3.1% for each of the previous two years. He recalled that last year, sales at the end of the year, which reached 579.3 billion dollars, had been driven down by the closure of the federal government because of a political crisis and a month unusually cold.

December

According to a Consumer Reports survey, 53% of respondents have no intentions of buying the five-day period covering “Black Friday” and “Cyber ​​Monday”. And the 47% who intend to do so, 38% say they will exclusively online and 30% in stores exclusively in hard.

Consumers in the street during the” Black Friday, “November 28, 2014 in London (AFP / Justin Tallis)

All the people came before the stores Friday were not necessarily to spend and do business. Before a Walmart supermarket downtown Washington, a few hundred protesters marched Friday morning to demand a minimum wage increase.

Saint Louis (Missouri, center), demonstrators forced a commercial center City to close Friday, demanding a boycott on behalf of the young Black killed in the nearby town of Ferguson.

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