Central New York bargain hunters were out and about Friday trying to land those limited black Friday specials. But Syracuse University professor of retail practice Amanda Nicholson says there’s no reason to rush for most items.
"They'll have special deals that last for X number of hours sometimes, so you have to be there early. But many of those things will come up on a deal again before the end of the season."
Still, Nicholson says there could be more pressure on retailers this year because of the calendar. Thanksgiving came later in the month.
"From the retailers perspective, they look at the calendar year and go ooh. Now we've got to try and get pretty much the same volume in 5 or 6 days shorter, so there's more pressure there. You're gonna have to start discounting deeper or earlier or doing something to generate the activity you need to make up those dollars."
Nicholson says chain stores are more likely to have slashed prices on mass market items. That’s where local independent retailers can carve their own niche.
For a list of locallay owned retailers, restaurants, and services, you can visit syracusefirst.org.
