(Washington Examiner) Retailers, flush with inventory and eager for customers, are set to offer some deep discounts this year as Black Friday approaches.
The paradigm has almost entirely shifted from Black Friday of 2021. Last year, retailers were struggling to keep products on shelves because of historic supply chain disruptions that were sending ripples throughout the world economy.
Additionally, because of that scarcity and consumers being flush with savings, demand to purchase those goods was soaring, meaning that stores didn’t need to mark down items as much as in other seasons.
Now, though, a glut of inventory is causing retailers to work overtime in order to offload their products. In addition to the excess inventory, inflation is eating into consumers’ paychecks and making it harder for them to splurge on Christmas gifts and other holiday items, so stores are desperate to offer discounts and lure customers in.
“Last year, about one-third of consumers said that they’re finding what they’re looking for in stores, and that has doubled to about two-thirds now,” Mark Mathews, the National Retail Federation’s vice president of research development and industry analysis, told the Washington Examiner.
“With high inventories, retailers have to clear shelve space and make room for stuff that’s still arriving onshore, which means that they have discounts,” he added, noting that the deepening Black Friday discounts are a positive development for consumers after the last two years. “I think consumers are going to go out there and be pleasantly surprised by what they see in terms of the amount of sales and the discounts.”
Inflation has hit consumers hard. Inflation as measured by the consumer price index clocked in at 7.7% in the 12 months ending in October, a decline from the month before but a number that is still far higher than the Federal Reserve’s preferred level.
