Inflation clouds Black Friday shoppers

New York — Inflation-weary shoppers were expected to turn out in record numbers for deals on Black Friday. But thin crowds were seen outside many stores in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles on what historically has been the busiest shopping day of the year.

Many shoppers who opened their wallets said their purchases were strategic, not impulsive or splurges.

"We've been waiting," said Tulio Rose, 28, who picked up a big-screen TV at a Best Buy store in Los Angeles, while shopping with Barnisha Nill, 35. They saved about $500 on a TV for their new apartment.

About 166 million people were planning to shop from Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday through this coming "Cyber Monday", according to the National Retail Federation — almost 8 million more than last year. But with sporadic rain in some parts of the country, stores were less busy than usual on Black Friday.

Many retailers started dangling big discounts last month to unload excess inventory as supply chain bottlenecks eased, but the bargains were not enough to tempt some shoppers as concerns about inflation and the economy continued to mount, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"Along with the ongoing impact of inflation, consumer attitudes have also been weighed down by rising borrowing costs, declining asset values and weakening labor market expectations," said Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers.

Retailers are offering steep discounts both online and in stores, which may pinch profit margins in the fourth quarter.

The consulting firm Kearney said its checks showed apparel retailers were the most active with sales, offering discounts of as much as 60 percent off. TV sets and electronics also bore strong discounts to tempt consumers who have been tightening their purse strings.

Black Friday is expected to bring in $9 billion from online sales, a modest increase of 1 percent from last year, with shoppers now flocking to brick-and-mortar stores after a pandemic-led pause over the past two years.

Analysts and industry experts had cautioned that Black Friday could be somewhat muted this year. Earlier and steeper sales — while beneficial for strategic shoppers — are hurting retailers whose margins are suffering from a glut of inventory and growing labor and other overhead costs, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

"Meanwhile, consumers are showing signs of fatigue after contending with decades-high inflation for much of the year," it said, noting that the prices rise of 7.7 percent in October was still far above normal levels, and lower than analysts had expected.

The New York Times reported on Friday that "the situation underlines a grim reality of the pandemic era".

"A lot of these (poor) households are moving toward the greater fragility that was the norm before the pandemic," it reported.

Even wealthier people are feeling pinched, polls show. They are still buying, but choosing less expensive options, it said.

Agencies - Xinhua