From HHGregg to Wal-Mart, retailers are all in on Black Friday

Ah, Thanksgiving. The beginning of a four-day camping weekend.

Or, maybe not.

Recreational Equipment Inc., better known as REI, generated massive buzz earlier this month when it announced it would keep its stores closed on Black Friday. Its #OptOutside marketing campaign — naturally, it had a hashtag — went viral, urging people to enjoy the outdoors rather than spending the weekend rushing into stores.

But REI's dark aisles will be largely alone in the retail wilderness Friday. Almost every other major retailer is doubling down on Black Friday deals, with many stores continuing their traditions of starting sales on Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., for instance, is increasing its emphasis on the high-volume shopping hours between Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The world's largest retailer last year spread out its biggest sales over five days. This year, all of Wal-Mart's in-store sales start at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and will last until each product is sold out.

Wal-Mart's Black Friday sales include a $998 Samsung 55-inch ultra-high-definition television, $299 PlayStation 4 bundles and top-selling video games for $27. Chasing those deals, Wal-Mart executives say, is a great way for families to spend Thanksgiving weekend.

"Black Friday at Wal-Mart is a family affair and it's something we take very seriously," said Steve Bratspies, Wal-Mart's chief merchandising officer. "You'll see entire families, multiple generations, shopping together."

So much for opting outside.

This year, though, consumers also will have more options than ever for opting inside and shopping online. Wal-Mart for the first time will offer the same deals online that it's advertising in stores. Many more retailers, including HHGregg Inc., Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc., will make Black Friday deals available on their websites starting early Thanksgiving morning.

Retailers have been beefing up their online offerings in an effort to compete against e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. — which started early with a countdown-to-Black Friday sale. Amazon's sales have been growing at a double-digit percentage pace, though, while non-Amazon e-commerce sales are leveling off in the U.S.

As online sales growth has slowed, brick-and-mortar retailers have refocused on creating a sense of urgency for people to shop in stores. Even Amazon recently opened a book store in Seattle.

"This gets into a deeper philosophical discussion on the role of e-commerce," said Josh Poag, CEO of Poag Shopping Centers LLC. "For too long, people in the public have bought into this e-commerce-versus-brick and mortar. Really, what's shaking out in the last couple years is people realized it's a combination of the two."

Poag Shopping Centers owns the Shops at Perry Crossing in Plainfield, which recently got an $11.1 million makeover and was renamed from the Metropolis Lifestyle Center. Poag's tenants are counting on big Black Friday sales, he said.

"Black Friday is still important because it's great publicity," he said. "It's a real (public relations) event, great to drive traffic and drive sales, but it's no longer solely about brick and mortar — it's about how retailers combine online presence with brick and mortar."

HHGregg CEO Dennis May said his company didn't have the luxury of keeping the lights out on Black Friday. The Indianapolis electronics retailer will be open at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving boasting huge sales on televisions and appliances. HHGregg will sell 55- and 65-inch ultra-high-definition televisions for less than $1,000, Fitbits for $49 and Roku streaming devices for $19.99.

"Our research shows two out of every three millennials plan on shopping Black Friday," HHGregg CEO Dennis May said.

HHGregg in October conducted a holiday survey that found Indianapolis residents are especially serious about Black Friday. Forty-two percent of Indianapolis residents say they get competitive about Black Friday and two out of three local shoppers say they'll come up with a plan before heading out, according to HHGregg.

It's an opportunity that HHGregg doesn't plan to pass up.

"We clearly are putting a lot of emphasis on having great door-busters," May said. "We clearly looked at what are some of the fun things the consumer is looking for and really made a great investment to make sure we had outstanding prices."

Consumers could be big winners this holiday season. Many retailers this month reported gloomy quarterly results that have analysts predicting big sales through December.

Several department stores, including Kohl's Corp. and Macy's Inc., acknowledged having mountains of excess merchandise, causing concern — at least, among investors — that they need to unload inventory at low prices in the coming weeks.

But May, the HHGregg CEO, said he thinks retailers, including his, will have a successful holiday season.

"You've (heard) some noise out there in retail across a lot of sectors," May said. "The holiday is all in front of us. I think the holidays are happening differently as we evolve into this digital space. ... Cyber Monday becomes even more important. Thanksgiving is an important part of the shopping holiday. The consumer has so much more information — so much more access — you're going to see these events spread out across the holiday."

While REI sits out Black Friday, other retailers will offer plenty of places for shoppers to go.

"If you look at our industry, the electronics business, our primary competitors are all going to be open Black Friday," May said. "We felt like we, like them, needed to be there to serve that customer."