Published: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Updated: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Holiday shopping gets headstart in Manatee

MANATEE — Let the holiday bargain hunting begin.

Major retailers are rolling out pre-Black Friday sales this weekend, hoping to snag consumers in what is expected to be another dismal holiday sales season.

On Saturday, Wal-Mart is cutting prices up to 60 percent on select toys and video games, Sears will continue its “Black Friday Now” sale that began on Halloween, and Toys R Us is discounting popular Rock Band video games.

“We’ve been seeing aggressive holiday promotions for the last couple weeks now, and it’s really retailers trying to win over shoppers and bring them into their stores,” said Kathy Grannis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. “Since there’s so much competition out there these days it really does come down to price.”

The National Retail Federation projected holiday sales will decline 1 percent this year. And consumers are expected to spend an average of $682.74 on holiday shopping, down from last year’s $705.01.

With those statistics in mind, retailers are introducing Black Friday-like savings earlier.

Bradenton-based Bealls is enticing customers to visit its stores early Saturday for discounts as well as a $10 off any purchase coupon that will go to the first 100 customers.

On Sunday, Bealls will start its extended holiday hours and host a holiday preview night in which consumers can save 20 percent on their purchases that day.

“We expect a big pop on the pre-Black Friday events,” said Bill Webster, spokesman for Bealls. “Holiday preview night should be huge. It’s offering everybody the same discount employees receive.”

And because a survey by the National Retail Federation found more consumers plan to use cash this year, Grannis says budgets will be key.

“This year we found more people will be leaning toward paying with cash and trying to stay away from credit so there may not be as many big purchases but more consumers buying a little at a time,” Grannis said.

At Prime Outlets-Ellenton, retailers have started advertising Black Friday-like discounts. Hartmann Luggage is promoting a pre-Thanksgiving sale with markdowns up to 60 percent, while Kate Spade is offering discounts up to 75 percent, and Carter’s is promoting 60 percent off holiday clothes.

“Though Black Friday, starting with our Midnight Madness Event, is traditionally the kick off of our holiday season, we anticipate that early discounts will only help our overall holiday traffic and sales,” Sarah Ozgun, spokeswoman for Prime Outlets-Ellenton, said.

Wal-Mart announced Tuesday it will sell the EZ Bake Oven for $16, down from $28; Nerf Capture the Flag for $19, down from $39; and will issue $40 Wal-Mart gift cards with a purchase of the “Hero” video game packages.

“Shoppers who want to get a jump start this weekend can find values in entertainment they would expect to see after Thanksgiving Day,” said Gary Severson, senior vice president of entertainment for Wal-Mart, in a news release.

Tom Aiello, spokesman for Sears, said the retail chain launched the Black Friday Now promotion in response to consumers who are looking to save in these economic conditions.

“We took our cues from the customer,” Aiello said. “Bringing those deep doorbuster values early in the season has been a big success. Customers appreciate having those values earlier and having the ability to pay it off earlier.”