Its a shopping trend that has been gaining in popularity in T&T in recent years. Today, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, some local retailers are offering one-day discounts and special offers hoping to attract bargain hunters.
However, president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) Gregory Aboud said while the trend is catching on in T&T, it may be an awkward situation for retailers to keep up with given challenges of accessing foreign exchange to replenish goods.
Traditionally US retailers offer deeply discounted sales, usually on clothing and electronic items, on the day after Thanksgiving. This phenomena, known as Black Friday has caught on in T&T. Last year, throngs of shoppers lined up from early at retail outlets offering Black Friday deals. Record crowds were reported at wholesalers PriceSmart and at the Gulf City Mall in south Trinidad as bargain hunters rushed to take advantage of one-day deals.
Aboud said modern technology was at the core of facilitating the spread of sales phenomena such as Black Friday.
"The ease with which information now flows between the US and T&T, whether its from cable television, or the internet, or social media such as Facebook, has made it much easier for the Black Friday idea to be replicated in T&T," he said.
Aboud added that he expected local retailers and distributors to see a spike in sales.
"T&T consumers are very savvy and discerning so once good value is presented to them, they usually recognise it and try to capture it. So if retailers and distributors are offering discounts and local consumers perceive good value, they will buy," he said.
He added, however, that retailers and distributors were in trap between determining whether to accelerate sales and run down inventory, or being able to replace stock in the face of difficulties with the supply of foreign exchange.
He said: "Retailers may have one eye on accelerating sales, and another eye on the trouble they will face in getting forex to replace their inventory."
In South Trinidad, while some retailers are holding Black Friday sales today, president of the San Fernando Business Association Daphne Bartlett said the trend had not yielded much success.
In the leadup to Black Friday today, some stores in San Fernando have been offeringbetween 10 and 25 per cent off on some purchases.
"This offer has not made a dent because sales continue to be very slow," Bartlett said.
She added that some stores are not offering anything different for tomorrow because the public has been very careful with spending due to the slowdown in the economy.
PriceSmart is offering ten per cent off on any item for customers using the Scotiabank PriceSmart Diamond Card in a Smart Friday promotion. Asupervisor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said items including electronicswill be on sale.
Country manager Dhanraj Mahabir was not available for comment but a source at the popular warehouse shopping outlet, which has branches across the country, said security has been boosted in anticipation of an influx of customers.
Standard Distributors is offering 40 per cent off on select televisions and audio systems for the next four days, while 15 per cent discounts are being offered on beds and mattresses.
Online Black Friday deals are available fromEmily Mack of T&T MarketPlace who has a Facebookoffer of 15 per cent off all Urban Decay makeup palettes, while John Paul Brenan of BusinessTT is giving 50 per cent off mattresses.
Black Friday is a long held tradition in the US where for decades shoppers have been taking advantage of widespread bargains and scramble for doorbuster deals and deeply discounted products available in limited quantities. It is the biggest shopping day of the year and the official kick-off to the Christmas shopping season.
Andre Worrell