Stores adapt Black Friday strategies for ‘omnichannel shoppers’

Shannon Davis is the definition of a thrifty shopper. When her husband had to leave his job 10 years ago, she began to look at how to cut costs.

“We only had a certain amount of money from disability and whatever I could bring in on the side,” she said.

Coupons, price matching items with ads, browsing stores online and even going to different clearance aisles: Davis was going tto any length to make sure she got the best deal.

“I always look to see what’s the most expensive item and if I need that item,” Davis said. “(Then I see) what is the cheapest point I can get it at, using whatever I have to use.”

Thanks to the Internet and smartphones, people are shopping through many different channels than before like Davis. To bring these “omnichannel shoppers” physically in-store for Black Friday, stores are shifting their strategies.

A growing trend the past couple of years is stores offering in-store-only sales. An example of this is having a sale on select items at different hours through the night– to try to keep foot traffic constant.

It’s part of Walmart’s strategy this year. It will be offering a one-hour guarantee on high-demand electronics. Shoppers can buy them at the guaranteed price for the store’s first hour of Black Friday. Even if the store physically runs out of the item, shoppers will receive a voucher to redeem for it later.

Best Buy is taking a different approach. Instead of having different sales in-store and online, it will be having the same Black Friday deals across all channels.

“People tend to shop wherever they want to,” said Best Buy general manager Jason Strawn. “If a customer comes into the store or goes to our website, they’re going to get a very similar experience from both places.”

As the biggest shopping day of the year nears, Davis kind of has an idea of her plan.

“I’m probably going to go to lunch somewhere and I usually have free coupons for that,” she said. “I will get all the tissue and wrapping paper I need for all my items.”

Some stores’ Black Friday deals begin as early as 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Cyber Monday is the next big shopping day. The National Retail Federation said 79 percent of Americans plan to shop online for it.