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A retailer's Thanksgiving prayer

November 27, 2013 by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

With Black Friday grabbing more headlines than the Thanksgiving holiday itself, I thought it would be worthwhile examining what a retailer's prayer would sound like this Thanksgiving:

"I have so much for which to be thankful. I’m grateful for the:

• Fear and anxiety that cause me to offer outlandish deals to attract customers totally committed to price.
• Lack of imagination that affords me only one option for generating sales — extending Black Friday into Thanksgiving day.
• Opportunity to drive my costs up with temporary help and overtime. 
• Significantly lower margins those sales will generate.
• Additional marketing costs I’ll incur to generate low-margin sales.
• Mistaken belief that customers, who have waited overnight and are willing to tolerate the long checkout lines, will purchase more because it’s convenient to do so.
• Illusion that I’ll gain customer loyalty from customers who only care about price.
• Lack of concern for the welfare of my customers and employees.
• Ability to frustrate customers with the fine print of our offers.
• Opportunity to prevent my employees from enjoying their family traditions.

Most of all I’m grateful for the joy that winning the sales game affords - even though I know I’ll forego profits to do so."

I admire the companies that do NOT participate in the Black Friday madness, especially those that aren’t extending Black Friday into Thanksgiving day. Their forbearance implies both a genuine concern for the welfare of their customers and employees AND confidence in their ability to generate profitable sales from loyal customers who value what they have to offer.

Retailers that feel that they don’t have a choice, that they must follow their competitors' lead to "compete," exhibit none of the confidence I need to see to feel that my interests will trump the company’s desire to make a sale.

Retailers can choose to participate or not. The choice will dictate the kind of customers they attract. They can have customers solely committed to price or they can have value buyers who are willing to pay a fair price for what they offer.

Consumers also have a choice. We can encourage retailers to compete on price or we can reward practices that place our interests ahead of the company’s desire to make a sale. When, where and how you spend your money will dictate which direction retail takes in the future. Whether you’re a retailer or consumer, choose wisely.

About Dale Furtwengler

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